I Hate the Fact I Love You
by firefox53022
Summary: In loving memory of Anne, known as Firefox53022
1. Part One: Enemies

Arc One

**Arc One**

**Enemies**

**-I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine. -- Chapter five of **_**Pride and Prejudice**_


	2. We're WHAT!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Now get a life, cuz I know I need one.**

**Author Note: Right, just so you know, I'M AN IDIOT! I know I should be working on Return of Hao and an Unusual Pair, but I have this serious writers block for those two stories, especially Return of Hao. So I decided to try a HitsuXKarin Bleach fanfic. Hopefully it'll work out, and I'll probably be working on it until I get some inspiration for my other stories. **

**So then, this is rated M because there will be MATURE SCENES AND SEXUAL INNUENDOES much later in the story! You have been warned... also, this is a HitsuXKarin story, though it may not seem like it at first. I don't know all of the Vasto Lords, so I got creative. Finally, I borrowed the name Shirna Academy from Shaman King for lack of thinking up a better name. Now, enjoy and try not to be too harsh as this is my first Bleach story. **

Synopsis: Karin Kurosaki leads an ordinary life in Kyoto until... DUN, DUN, DUN, DUNNNN... her father decides to start a clinic in a place called Karakura, where her brother is currently living. Karin goes there and makes new friends, becomes a soccer player... and becomes worst enemies with the hottie and best soccer player of Karakura High... Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Karin Kurosaki: 15 ½

Hitsugaya Toshiro: 15 ¾

Ichigo: 17

Everyone else is either Ichigo or Karin's age... unless they're teachers, coaches, ECT.

**I Hate Every Thing About You (Why Do I Love You?)**

**Chapter One: We're Whaaaaat?!**

* * *

It was all because of that one soccer game.

When I look back on life, I can't help but wonder if things would've turned out differently. If I hadn't gone to that soccer game or it had been cancelled just a bit earlier due to that freak thunder storm or... the list goes on and on. But still, I can't help but wonder those what ifs, because my life could've played out so much more differently if it hadn't been for that one soccer game against the Karakura Shinigami.

But that's beside the point.

Anyways, that fateful day I was preparing in my room for the game against the Shinigami's (They're a rival soccer team if you're curious). I was incredibly hyped up, for this match would determine the 1st rank team in the Varsity Summer Division. This is why my team (the Kyoto Hollows) was destined to win.

If I sound conceited, it's not intentional. But it _is _fact. We are the best, and we will win, even if the Shinigami's had a scotching hot reputation (no losses, like my team) and my brother was on the team.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that part. My seventeen year old jackass of a brother got in a fight with my dad a year ago and moved in with his girlfriend Rukia Kuchiki in Karakura. He calls every night to talk to Yuzu (my twin sister) and me, but I'm still nursing a grudge at him for moving... even if I don't show it when I talk to him.

Pulling on my white jersey with black trim and white pants (also with black trim) I smiled at the sight of my last name (Kurosaki) and my number (10) printed in bold black letters on the back of my shirt.

On the front of my jersey was the name of our team, Kyoto Hollows. Satiated that my outfit looked nice, I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath, quelled the butterflies in my stomach, and headed downstairs.

I was immediately met by my tearful, slightly eccentric, father, Isshin Kurosaki.

Okay, maybe not just "slightly" eccentric.

"Karin-Chaaaaaaan!" My dad squealed as he threw himself at me to envelop me in a bone crushing hug. Used to this treatment, I deftly kicked his face in with my strong foot, and my dad went flying. Seconds later he bounced back up to his feet, good as new (were does he get the vitality?!), while Yuzu hovered worriedly nearby.

"Bye... Ulquiorra is picking me up." I told them quickly, eager to escape and not be late, and my father gaped. Suddenly he burst into tears, moved to hug me, thought better of it, and let lose another round of tears.

"My Karin-chan is so grown upppppp," My dad wailed, and I resisted the urge to roll my hazel colored eyes. "She's already going to a championship game! I'm so proud, and I'm sure Masaki would be as well!" He cried, before looking around and blinking. During the waterworks, I had quietly decided not to put with him (meaning my father) anymore, whispered a good bye to Yuzu (who returned it with a soft spoken good luck) and then headed out the door.

"Karin-chan? KARIN-CHAN?! I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING! WAAAAIIIIIIT!"

"Yo," I said boredly as I jumped into the backseat of my best friend's car. Ulquiorra looked back at me with his serious green eyes and spoke in a quiet, self assured (almost emotionless) tone.

"What took you so long?" He asked, and I yawned.

"What do you think?" I asked and my other best friend, Nel (who was riding shot gun, much to my irritation. I ALWAYS have to sit in the backseat of a car for one reason or another) sent me a grin and absently flipped her fluorescent green hair.

"You're dad gone doting father on ya?" She asked, and I nodded in exasperation. Ulquiorra looked at me a hint of a smile on his face, though he kept driving in that annoyingly perfect way of his.

"Did he start hugging the picture of your mom?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes and twirled a finger through my tom boyishly short sable colored locks.

"He would've if I hadn't made a quick getta way." I said with a grin, and we all laughed. We then settled into a comfortable silence (Well, Ulquiorra and I did while Nel chattered happily about anything and everything that flitted into her mind).

"It looks like rain." Ulquiorra finally observed, and both Nel and I glanced up at the overcast skies. It did indeed, as my friend had put it, look like rain.

"I don't mind the rain, but I hope there's no lightning and thunder. It would suck balls if our game got cancelled." Nel said, voicing my opinion aloud. Both Ulquiorra and I agreed just as Ulquiorra (a little early, but not TO early- as usual) pulled into the drive of the soccer park.

We jumped out and passed the ball around for several minutes (Nel decided to flaunt the fact she was the best player next to me and pulled a bicycle at one point) when Grimmjow and Yammy both appeared.

By the way, I didn't name them, so don't give me the funny look at the odd names.

"What's up you guys," Grimmjow yelled as he jumped out the car and raced towards us, the behemoth Yammy following slowly behind (Some people think Yammy got held back several times, which is why he looks so huge, but I know for a fact he's 17). "And girls." Grimmjow amended at the sight of Nel's face.

"Looks like the other team's arriving too." Yammy noted in his deep rumbling bass, and we all turned to watch the black jerseyed Shinigami team file out, also a notably good co-ed team (well duh, we're tied for first place).

I waved at my brother Ichigo and his girlfriend, Rukia, and they both waved back. Ichigo's best friend Renji said something to them in an undertone, and Ichigo made a disgruntled face I could see plainly from the other side of the field.

"Hey guys, guess what? I heard that team has this awesomely awesome forward named Toshirou Hitsugaya, so stay on your guard." Grimmjow said, obviously excited at the prospect of a good challenge.

Nel and I exchanged glances, wondering what we we're up against. Once again I felt a fluttering in my stomach, but quelled it through sheer determination. The rest of the team finally arrived, followed by our two coaches; coach Aizen and coach Ichimaru.

"Right, divide into two you guys," Aizen said calmly. "Nel, warm up one group, Karin, do the other." We did as our coach ordered and I set off at a jog with Grimmjow at my heels chattering away about the other players on the team.

"Another guy you want to worry about is Madarame Ikkaku. The dudes a maniac, he barrels over anyone that gets in his way." Grimmjow told me, unaware of my steadily frying brain.

"Will you stop talking about the other team?!" I finally demanded as my nerves snapped. "You're driving me off the wall with all your talk, can't you see I'm nervous?!" Grimmjow fell silent and I couldn't help but wonder if I had hurt his feelings. Then he spoke with a devilish grin on his face.

"Well, alright... but just one more thing," He said, and then cut me off as I tried to protest in vain. "The kid Toshirou is said to be cute... try not to get distracted." Grimmjow then laughed and raced away, with me in close pursuit as I chased him around the field.

The rest of the team stared at us, and coach Ichimaru sighed.

"I believe coach Aizen said to 'warm-up', not chase your teammates around the field, Kurosaki." Ichimaru reprimanded, and I felt my face flush with embarrassment as both Grimmjow and I looked down at the ground in shame.

"Sorry," I mumbled under my breath, and Coach Ichimaru nodded in satisfaction. We practiced a couple of drills, and then it was time for the game to start. Nel took the coin toss and lost, so we're defending the side with the wind against us, but we get the kick-off.

Everyone got on the field and as I looked around, I frowned. Was it just my imagination, or did the Shinigami's only have ten players on the field? My suspicion was confirmed when a slight man in wooden clogs and a green striped hat got in a fight with the referee.

"One of my best players is yet to be here. Just a couple minutes longer." The coach pleaded, and the ref stubbornly shook his head.

"I'm sorry sir, but we must begin. Please put your last player on the field." The ref declared, and my hopes rose. Without one of their good players here, our chances of winning shot skyward. The man shook his head and rubbed his temples before speaking in a tired voice.

"Hanataro, please go in for Tosh-"

"You planning to start without me?" A pale haired kid appeared behind the two, and both jumped a foot in the air. The coach of the other team and the ref both whirled to look at the boy, and the coach looked relieved.

"Toshirou! It's about time." He growled, looking annoyed, and the white haired kid shrugged absently.

"Whatever, you'll get over it. Can I go on the field, or are you still going to send out Hanataro?" The boy said coolly, and I felt surprise and a tiny bit of dislike. I would have never spoken to coach Aizen or coach Ichimaru that way.

"Fine. Go in." The coach said tightly, and Toshirou took his sweet time coming on the field, giving us a chance to study him. And I had to admit, Grimmjow hadn't been lying when he said the forward was cute. As a matter of fact, he was a babe.

"Now that is one stuck up, super cute kid." Nel said with a whistle, and I shot her a grin. Toshirou must have heard us, because he sent Nel a dangerous look with his brilliant teal colored eyes.

"I'm not a kid." He snapped, and Nel smirked before nudging me.

"He says he's not a kid, I wonder if that's true?" She whispered devilishly, and the Toshirou boy flushed slightly.

However, I had noted that the referee was bringing the whistle to his lips to blow, and I instantly went into 'the zone'.

ZZZZZIIINNNGGGG!

Nel passed the ball to me and I shot off, eager to prove to my brother that our team wasn't to be messed with. Suddenly I realized that I didn't have the ball and turned to see Toshirou making his way up the field, the ball appearing as if by magic in between his feet.

My face burned as I shot forward to get open, and watched in satisfaction as Grimmjow neatly stole the ball from Toshiru and then passed the ball towards me with all his might.

Swinging around I started to pass the ball when I felt the breath get knocked out of me. Stumbling to my knees, I heard the crowd and my team roar as a bald kid rammed into me and sent me flying.

"Foul!" Grimmjow, Nel and Ulquiorra all shouted as one, and the ref blew his whistle and flashed baldy (I wondered if his was the Ikkaku boy that Grimmjow had mentioned.) a red card, causing him to shout obscenities at the man.

"Fuck you bitch, you don't know what you're talking 'bout. I was trying to get the fucking ball!" Baldy yelled, and the ref shook his head and ushered the furious high schooler off the field, to be replaced by a black haired boy with glasses and the number 14 emblazoned in white.

I was grateful to see my brother give Baldy a shove and a few angry words as he left the field. Then I realized I was supposed to take a free kick, and grinned. This was the perfect chance to use my strong foot to try and score a goal.

Backing up, I raced forward sent the ball flying. It soared towards the goal... only to be stopped by the broad shouldered goalie with curly brown hair that partially covered his eyes.

My team cheered anyways, and as I darted back into position, I noticed the cute white haired boy Toshiru giving me a hard stare with his teal colored eyes. I grinned at him, trying to be a good sport.

"Your goalie made a good save!" I called, and Toshiru merely humphed and looked a way. Surprised, I skidded to a halt and gave him a searching look.

_What's up that kid's butt?_ I wondered, before a call from Nel brought me to the present. Realizing she'd gotten the ball after the Shinigami's goalie made a spectacular punt and wanted an open pass, I raced forward.

"Watch out, number ten's on your back!" I heard a teammate call out, and I turned to see that, sure enough, Toshiru was racing towards me with a determined expression on his face. Getting the ball and twisting away from a blond haired boy, I looked wildly for a pass.

Then Toshiru stepped nimbly in front of me, caught the ball between his feet, flipped it over him, and finally turned around and shot off towards the other end of the field. For a minute I was stupefied by the incredible display of control, before I regained my senses and blasted down the field after Toshirou.

My embarrassment at having the ball stolen put wings on my feet, and I quickly caught up to Toshiru (I don't know about you, but dribbling with a ball and avoiding defenders while looking for a player to pass to can seriously hamper your speed.) and made the decision to slide tackle him from behind.

"Look out Toshiro!" My brother called out, and I winced as my element of surprise was blown. But I was still fairly confident I could pull off my tackle, and slid to the ground between Toshiru's legs as he half turned to pop the ball over my head towards Ichigo's voice. As I took the ball I heard several voices cheer for me, but one stood out the most.

"My Karin-chan, I didn't say you could play soccer just to wedge yourself between boy's legs." I heard my father brawl, and that's what started the whole affair. Usually I hate my father for the embarrassment he put me through that day, but sometimes I wonder if things wouldn't have turned out the way they did if what happened didn't happen.

Surprised by this statement, I automatically tried to sit up and get a look at my dad. Unfortunately, this is rather difficult when you're in the middle of slide tackling someone.

I heard several scandalous gasps as I my face met Toshiru's butt, and the boy fell over in shock. This literally knocked the air out of me and (as fate would have it) my head hit a fair sized rock half protruding out the ground (why the hell that rock was there, I honestly have no idea) as I fell back to the ground.

It wasn't hard, but it was in just the wrong place so that my vision swam and grew cloudy as I blacked out- and the first droplets of rain began to fall as lightning imprinted itself across the cloudy sky.

* * *

"Is she alright Kurosaki-sama?" A voice that I dimly recognized as Nel asked timidly, and my father answered back in an assured tone.

"Don't worry Nel-san; it's just a simple bruise." He told her, and I bit back a groan. It certainly didn't feel like a simple fucking bruise. Sitting up I opened my eyes and gave my dad a glassy glare.

"Stop flirting with my friends you idiot." I said, and everyone shouted my name at the same time.

"Karin!" Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, Nel, Ichigo and Yuzu all cried, while my dad promptly burst into tears (I, however, winced).

"Masaki-san! I have saved our daughter! Now I must celebrate!" With this he promptly left, no doubt to praise that poster of our mother (actually, I'm not sure exactly what he does to it- whether it be praises, dances, or something inappropriate).

Everyone stared after him until Ichigo coughed delicately and began to talk.

"Err... anyway, how do you feel Karin?" My brother asked, and I shrugged noncommittally. Actually, I had a roaring headache and the events of the game were blurry, but I didn't want to worry my friends and brother.

"Fine, where's Rukia?" I asked, and Ichigo shrugged in response.

"I told her to head back with the soccer team... everyone was bummed that the game got cancelled, except for Toshirou. I've never seen him so happy to leave." Ichigo said with an easy going smile, and Grimmjow burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding?! The kid practically flew off the field, and did you see his face? The guy was beat red! Priceless!" Everyone else laughed while my brother frowned and I looked around in confusion, trying to remember what had taken place.

"What happened?" I asked, giving up finally, and Nel looked at me in surprise.

"You don't remember?" She said in surprise, and I furrowed my brow as I felt my face heat up for some reason.

"Remember what?" I asked nervously, and everyone exchanged glances before Nel giggled softly.

"Well... Karin, you see... you were slide tackling the cute forward when you sat up for some reason... and you kinda... sorta... accidentally stuck your face up his butt." She finished quickly, and I think I turned a shade of red not yet invented in the spectrum.

"Oh shit, are you serious?" I asked weakly (Ichigo frowned at my language but said nothing, deeming the situation inappropriate for a reprimand), and everyone nodded, pained looks in their eyes.

For a moment I wanted to sink through the floor with embarrassment, and the only thing that helped was the fact that this Toshirou didn't go to my school. A rather heavy and taciturn silence followed, only to be broken by... you guessed it, my dad (once again).

"KARIN! YUZU! I JUST REMEMBERED! I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!!" My father shouted as he bounded into the room, and I rolled my eyes (anything from our mother's portrait getting a tear to a bunny nibbling in the grass is considered an 'emergency' by my father). I was then surprised when Ichigo turned serious and ushered my bewildered friends out the room that I'd identified as mine.

I shared a look with Yuzu, who looked as nonplussed as myself. Once the room was empty my father abruptly turned serious and gave us both uncertain smiles. It was then that I knew something was up.

"Well... you see, I got this job offer in Karakura to take over a clinic, and though the pay was good, I wasn't sure whether to take it or not because of you girls. But I had a talk today with Ichigo, and we agreed that the arrangement so far wouldn't do. But Ichigo also wants to stay in Karakura with Rukia-san, so..."

"So what?" I asked fearfully, though deep down I think I already knew the answer. My father hesitated, cleared his throat, shuffled slightly and gave us another smile.

"I've decided that this is too good an opportunity to miss. Girls, we're moving to Karakura." My father's words echoed in my room like a bad nightmare as I gaped at him. For several seconds no one spoke as my mind went blank, and then there was a dull thud as Yuzu hit the floor.

She had fainted dead away.

* * *

**Author Note: This isn't a very important or fun chapter, I just wrote it to set the stage for the main story. The next chapter (because there will be lots of Karin and Hitsugaya funniness) will hopefully be funner to write. Ciao!**

**-Firefox**


	3. Captain' Hitsugaya and the Shinigamis

**Disclaimer: Don't own no Bleach or I wouldn't bother writing this.**

**Author Note: I hope you found the first chapter enjoyable, sorry that I stretched some of the characters dispositions (especially the Arrancar) so much, but I'll try to stay as in character as humanely possibly without disrupting the story line.**

**I Hate Everything About You (Why Do I Love You?)**

**Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou and the Shinigamis' **

* * *

Some times I can't help but wonder- why me?

For example, my life is as good and normal as it gets in my family. I have awesome friends, fairly reasonable grades, and revered as one of the best players of the brilliant Kyoto Hollow's.

Then not only do I publicly humiliate myself by (ACCIDENTALLY!!) sticking my face up a hot guy's butt, but I also find out I'm moving to Karakura- THE NEXT DAY!

I was ready to kill my father.

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer!" My aforementioned father sang from the wheel of the car, unaware of my murderous intent. "You take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall!"

Right now we're all in our blue minivan speeding through verdant countryside as we slowly approach my doom. Yuzu sat in the front next to my father (typical) while I sat in the back with my favorite red and black baseball cap pulled down to conceal most of my features.

"Karin-chan! Sing with us!" My father said happily, and I grimaced. Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with my father (need I explain the move?) and don't bother answering, instead turning my head to study the moving truck behind us, packed up with our stuff.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

We reached the house several hours later and Yuzu and my dad raced in to explore. I followed at a slower pace and looked around merely out of boredom, not interest.

The house was simple and small, though rather nice in a quaint way. The clinic was attached to it, with a living room, kitchen, and dinning room on the first floor. On the second floor were three bedrooms, one for Yuzu and I (damn, I hadn't needed to share a room back in Kyoto), one for Ichigo (who was moving back in with us now that he'd made up with dad, one of the few pluses), and finally one for my dad (in my opinion that man doesn't deserve a room).

"What do you think Karin-chan?" Dad asked excitedly, and I shrugged.

"'S alright." I said neutrally, and Dad's face fell comically.

"Oh... well, no matter!" My father proclaimed as he regained his good cheer. "I'm sure you'll grow to love it." He said with a big smile, and I repressed a sigh.

How did you respond to that?

"Can we come in?" Came a familiar yet not voice, and I turned to see my 'long lost' brother, Ichigo Kurosaki and his girlfriend Rukia.

He leaned against the side of the doorway with a suitcase of what I assumed to be clothes and toiletries thrown carelessly over his shoulder. Behind him was Rukia, who gave me a quick smile. However, my eyes were glued to my brother (the time we'd spent together yesterday had been to short to properly savor, as Ichigo had to leave almost immediately so as to not reach Karakura at the stroke of midnight) and I didn't give her the slightest attention.

My hazel eyes locked with Ichigo's light brown ones as I tried to show him the hurt, betrayal and loneliness I'd felt from his departure, and he tried to convey his apology just as wordlessly.

The moment was broken by (surprise, surprise) my dad.

"ICHIGO! MY DELINQUET SON!! I MISSED YOU TERRIBLY!" Dad howled before bowling my startled brother over. With a yelped "dad!" Ichigo was down as the two wrestled furiously. Just like old times. I felt a smile break across my face as Rukia and I kicked the brawl apart (Rukia took down Ichigo while I had the pleasure of venting my frustration on my father)

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here after all.

"Karin-chan! Yuzu-chan! Time for school!" My father called the next day before knocking on our door. I let out a groan as I realized that our father had somehow timed the move so that school started just after we got here.

"Lucky us." I grumbled as I pulled on a baggy t-shirt and some ripped jeans. My twin shot me a look at my muttered words, but then shrugged it off as she pulled on a sunny yellow tank top and some nice jeans.

Sometimes I wonder if my sister and I are really truly related; she's like the day and I'm like the night. She's like a cheerful sun while I'm just the dreary old moon. Still, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Yuzu to keep me in check.

"Ready for the first day of school Karin?" Yuzu asked with a tentative smile, and I sucked in my breath.

"Hell no, but I'll deal." I said cheerfully, and Yuzu chuckled quietly. My stomach grumbled as the smell of bacon and eggs filled the kitchen and I slid in a seat next to my brother, ready to eat.

Ichigo sent me a side long glance, looking curious.

"You planning on trying out for the varsity fall soccer team? Tryouts start today." My brother asked, and I jerked my head up in shock.

"What?! But it's the first day of school! Not only that, but the Summer League just ended yesterday." I yelped, while inwardly I felt slightly nervous about something that had to do with soccer, though I couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly.

"Coach is tough," Was Ichigo's only reply, and I immediately thought of the dandy in with the clogs and green/ white striped hat. He hadn't seemed like much to me. We all eagerly dug into the food, and once we were finished, Ichigo ushered Yuzu and I to his car.

We went in the back with our backpacks slung over our shoulder while Ichigo got shot gun and Rukia drove (The two fought over this extensively until Rukia seduced my poor brother into letting her drive).

While we drove Rukia talked animatedly while everyone else except Yuzu sulked for different reasons. When we arrived at Karakura High, I eyed it up and down, wondering if it was any good or not.

The building had four floors, with row upon row of windows for the rooms and made out of blinding white concrete. The exterior quickly bored me and I instead shifted my gaze towards something much more interesting- the soccer fields.

The green fields stretched for miles, delighting my experienced eyes the longer I gazed at them. Soon I was enraptured and slightly drooling, not noticing at first when my brother gently shook my shoulder while trying hard at the same time not to succumb to laughter.

"C'mon Karin, you don't want to be late on your first day do you?" Ichigo asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Wha- oh, thanks Ichi-nee." I said as I realized what I was doing before climbing out of the car and following the others into the school. I marveled at the size of the public school (I had previously gone to a small private school known as the Shirna Academy) and winced along with my sister at the noise.

"Ichigo! Yo, what up?!" Came a voice, and we all turned to see Renji Abarai, one of Ichigo's good friends. Ichigo yawned in his red headed friend's direction.

"Tired. I've always hated the first day of school." He said, not noticing that I was gaping at Renji as I made a connection within my head.

If Abarai was here, and he was also on my brother's soccer team, then did that mean that...?

"Toshirou-kun!" Came several squeals, and I felt dread form in the pit of my stomach as we all saw a crowd of girls rush towards a very familiar white haired hottie...

"Aw shit." I said, feeling my face turn red as the memories of my recent embarrassment rushed through my mind.

"Breakup patrol!" Came a cheerful voice, and we all turned to see a purple, spikey haired girl followed by the gigantic goalie from the game.

"Tatsuki and Chad." Ichigo explained, and we watched as Chad used his strength and size to bull doze through the crowd of girls to the misshapen Toshirou who was slowly getting crushed by the excited girls.

Toshirou shook himself and broke away from the girls by using the impromptu path Chad had created, and soon found shelter with his soccer friends. I was starting to feel sorry for the poor boy until he turned and gazed at me with his teal colored eyes.

"What is _she _doing here?" Toshirou asked in a condescending tone as his face turned a light shade of pink. Both Ichigo and I instinctively bristled before I replied in an annoyed tone.

"This is a school genius; people usually come here to learn." I said snidely, and Toshirou flushed again.

"Not all of us though." He retorted back with a lofty look in his aquamarine eyes, and I was slightly taken aback as I realized he was directing the insult at _me_. Before I could think up a reply a cool, scorching hot reply, we were interrupted.

"Hitsugaya-taicho!" Came a cry, and suddenly Toshirou disappeared between two huge breasts. The girl, a golden haired beauty about my age, smiled mischievously at the sight of the struggling boy.

"Ge- geroff me Matsumoto!" Toshirou yelped, and Matsumoto laughed good naturedly before releasing him from her death hug.

"Of course taicho." She said in a slightly mocking tone, and I cast Ichigo a curious look, wondering why Matsumoto was calling Toshirou that.

"Toshirou was captain of the team for the summer. It's really a joke among the team and Toshirou's friends." Tatsuki jumped in, and I nodded slowly at this before glancing again at Matsumoto.

She noticed my staring and smiled cheerfully, her bright eyes flashing.

"Hello, who might you be? I'm Rangiku Matsumoto." She told me, and I was reminded forcibly of Nel. This sent a pang of 'homesickness' for my friends through me, and I couldn't help but wonder what they were doing.

Did my friends miss me, or were they to busy getting through the hectic first day of school to think of me? The thought made me feel hollow on the inside, and not for the millionth time I wished I was back in Kyoto, hanging out and laughing with Nel, Ulquiorra, and Grimmjow.

"... Does your sister not speak?" Toshirou asked in a scornful tone, obviously still nursing a grudge from the soccer game. I sent him a quick glare before remembering to answer Matsumoto.

"Karin. Karin Kurosaki to be exact." I told her, and Matsumoto nodded and did a little bouncing step.

"That's great! Maybe we can get-" She began, but Toshirou cut her off and returned my glare two-fold.

"Let's go Matsumoto; we're going to be late for class." Toshirou snapped before stalking off, and the buxom blond stared after him for a moment.

"Oi! Taicho, wait for me!" She cried before flouncing after him, all the guy's gawking after her. Tatsuki and Rukia both rolled their eyes before grabbing their respective boyfriends and hurrying off to their classes with hurried good-byes.

I glanced at my twin, and Yuzu stared back with her soft brown eyes.

"Shall we go? Our classes are in room A 319." Yuzu told me, and I nodded, feeling my backpack dig into my shoulder blades and eager to deposit it at my nearby locker.

"Let's go." I decided, and we headed off with me repeatedly glancing at my schedule. First we had Biology with Nemu Kurotsuchi, English with Shunsui Kyoraku, Advanced Algebra with Jushiro Ukitake, World History with Yamamoto Genryusai, Art with Nanao Ise and gym with Chojiro Sasakibe.

As we walked in we saw our first teacher already waiting for us. She appeared to be only several years older then myself, with attractive features, long purple hair, and serious green eyes.

"Greetings students," She began, ignoring our slightly late attendance as she spoke in a quiet, monotone voice. "I am Nemu Kurotsuchi. You may address me as Kurotsuchi-san. I will pass out a syllabus of my expectations for your junior year."

I was already feeling bored and eager for the end of the day, where the gorgeous fields and soccer tryouts awaited me.

* * *

My stomach was grumbling loudly as I exited the room, Yuzu staying behind to eat lunch with quiet Ukitake-sama, who had apparently hit it right off the bat with her. I felt slightly betrayed that she was leaving me for some teacher from this dumb school, but chose not to comment.

As I got in the long line in the large, chaotic lunch room, I noticed Rukia, Tatsuki, Matsumoto, and another strawberry blond, large bosomed girl that I didn't recognize up ahead.

"Come on up with us Karin-chan!" Matsumoto shouted at the top of her lungs when she noticed me, and I felt myself grow warm as envious stares bored themselves into the back of my skull.

"Gomen Matsumoto-sama," I said in an unusually polite voice, and Matsumoto gave me an astonished look.

"You don't have to fix a prefix on the end of my name." She said in surprise, and Rukia sniggered as she absently held out her tray to receive some unidentifiable looking goop.

"No one ever does, not even Toshirou, and he feels the need to be polite to everyone." Rukia said, and all four girls laughed. I, however, grimaced at the mention of the irritating, unfriendly white haired boy's mention.

As we all sat down Tatsuki apparently remembered that I didn't know one of the girls.

"Oh, by the way, this is Orihime Inoue." Tatsuki explained, and Inoue sent me a polite smile.

"Hey." I said gruffly, and she gave me a shy smile. I couldn't help but feel slightly odd; I'd never in my life before made so many friends that were girls. I was usually very reclusive around them, having no tolerance for their petty desires, and mostly hung out with 'my guys'. And Nel.

I guess hanging out with my popular brother has its perks. Speaking of him...

"Hey guy's," Ichigo said cheerfully, sliding next to Rukia with Chad, Renji, Toshirou and several others I had yet to meet.

One had black hair with round glasses and I recognized him as the one who had taken Baldy's place at the soccer game. Then there was Baldy himself, who looked slightly surprised to see me, but not hostile. Finally there was a timid looking blond haired man who was also on the summer team.

"This is my sis guy's," Ichigo said when Baldy nudged him quickly. "You remember her from the game right? Karin Kurosaki?" Toshirou scowled into his food as Baldy and Renji burst out laughing.

"How could we forget?!" They both chortled, and I felt my face turn red, and was gratified to see Toshirou blushing like an idiot as well. When Baldy was over his laughing fit, he sent me a feral grin.

"Sorry 'bout that foul (even though it wasn't a foul), I didn't mean it. Names Madarame Ikkaku." He said before sticking out his hand, and I cautiously shook it. The other's then introduced themselves as Kira and Ishida.

The rest of the period we talked mostly about soccer and a tiny bit about school and my teachers. No one had any comment on Nemu (Referred to as such because her father worked here as well, a real bitch as Ichigo told me), who was rather blah.

All the girls found Shunsui rather lax and could pay a bit more attention to his students, but all the guy's said he was one of the best teachers, because he loved to party and let you do pretty much whatever you wanted.

Matsumoto gushed that Ukitake was simply a sweetie, and had to be treated nicely due to his tubercolis (which made me even happier that I'd allowed Yuzu to hang out with him.) Toshirou also commented at this point that Ukitake was a fine and respectable man, though he shot a quick glare at me before speaking (not that I cared).

As for Yamamoto, everyone spoke of him with fearful reverence, though he'd just seemed like a doddery old fool to me. However, I resolved to be good and respectful to him _just in case_.

Nothing much was said about Nanao either, only that she was strict and serious, but kind and treated everyone equally.

Only Ikkaku had any comment Sasakibe, and he said that the man was annoying and too much of a stiff. But Toshirou pointed out that Ikkaku was merely nursing a grudge because Sasakibe tried to expel the boy after pummeling a fellow during a school soccer game to a pulp ("It wasn't _that _bad!" "You broke the guy's arm.").

All in all, I left the lunch room with a fairly satisfactory feeling the pit of my stomach. Suddenly the world lurched and I fell on my face in surprise, sending my almost empty tray flying.

Sitting up and spluttering, I glared at the nearby Toshirou, knowing instinctively that he had something to do with my embarrassing fall.

"You tripped me!" I accused, and Toshirou narrowed his gorgeous teal eyes. For a moment I threatened to get sucked into them, but his next words brought me angrily down to earth.

"Don't blame me for being clumsy." He said in a biting, derisive tone, and I ignored him by getting up and brushing myself off. Stalking away, I noticed out of the corner of my eye Ichigo give Toshirou some hard words. The pale haired boy said something with an innocent expression on his face, and Ichigo gave him an unconvinced look before turning away.

Surging out onto the field, I skidded to a halt at the sight of the whole summer team (Plus 80 other kids who were obviously trying out).

"You're late Kurosaki." Toshirou said coldly to me, and I made a face at him before indiscreetly giving him the bird. The boy looked indignant, but said nothing at the sight of my brother giving him a stern look, almost as if he knew what we both were thinking.

Giving Ichigo a wave, I headed over towards were Tatsuki and Rukia were passing the ball. They both looked up and smiled at me, emboldening my wavering courage.

"Hey guy's," I said with a smile. "How's it going?" Tatsuki and Rukia glanced at each other before laughing heartily. Confused, I furrowed my brow as I waited, until Tatsuki sent me a feral grin.

"We were 'talking' about Chad and Ichigo." She said with a wink, and I felt my face (and Rukia's as well) heat up.

"Ah... I see," I said slowly, feeling the warmth spread through me as I gazed in embarrassment at the ground. Suddenly a thought occurred to me, and I looked up at them curiously.

"So, where's the dandy?" I asked, unconsciously referring to their coach as such. Both girls looked startled, and Tatsuki cocked her head to the side.

"Who's that?" She asked, puzzled, and I realized that they didn't know who I was talking about.

"Your coach, I saw him from the last game of the Summer Division." I explained, and Rukia and Tatsuki's expressions cleared.

"Oh... him. That's not our coach." Rukia said matter-o-factly, and I blinked in surprise.

"He's not?" I said in surprise, and Rukia quickly clarified.

"He sometimes coaches when our actual coach can't make it." She told me, and I looked around, trying to find someone who wasn't a high schooler.

"So who is he?" I finally asked, giving up as I realized that I couldn't anyone who looked remotely like a soccer coach. Tatsuki seemed to flinch slightly before replying.

"His name is-"

THUD.

Everyone fell silent as a soccer ball flew into one of the nets, snapping straight through it and flying down the street.

THUD.

I felt my jaws drop as I caught sight of the largest, scariest man I'd ever encountered. He had dark brown hair that had been gelled into spikes shooting out of the back of his head, with an eye patch covering one of his eyes. The other one was small and maniacal, with a scar zig zagging down the eye-patch-free part of his face. Finally, the huge, six-foot-huge man wore a feral grin that stretched his angular features and made him look slightly insane.

I was scared shitless.

"Hello, seniors, juniors, sophomores, and fresh meat," He said in a deep, booming tone. "I get to have the pleasure of being your soccer coach for the school year. Names Zaraki Kenpachi. If you're serious about soccer, you'll remember it. Questions?" He asked in a sharp tone, and a small, pimply boy who looked as though he'd never ran in his life raised a quivery hand.

"What is it?!" Zaraki barked out, looking irritated that someone actually had a question.

"C-can I go home n-now?" The boy stuttered out.

Once the ones terrified of Zaraki's appearance and mannerisms had cleared out, the tryouts had been narrowed down to about 50 high schoolers. Once coach Zaraki was satisfied that everyone who wanted out was gone, he hunkered down next to Toshirou.

"Hey there boy. You planning on kicking ass this year?" Zaraki asked thickly, and Toshirou looked faintly annoyed (probably at being called a kid) but didn't say anything to show this annoyance.

"Obviously." He answered arrogantly, and I gnashed my teeth at his tone. Zaraki, however, burst out laughing before shaking his head in an almost genial manner.

"Still the same asshole from last year Hitsugaya," Zaraki said with a frenzied grin, and Toshirou looked mildly affronted, though once again he chose not to comment negatively.

Swinging himself to face everyone, Zaraki rose to his full height, dwarfing the boy (and everyone else) next to him.

"Well, well, well..." The man said slowly, and I suppressed a shiver of fear. The man had obtained the aura of an excited predator going in for the kill, and it took all my will power not to flee in fear.

"Are you ready for the worst week of your life?" The man asked with a savage grin.

* * *

**-Firefox**


	4. Hell Week part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, ya know?**

**Author Note: Thank you for all the glorious reviews! I was so happy, I almost cried. By the way, this is a split chapter, so if it seems a litle incomplete, that's way. Enjoy!**

**Day 0**

* * *

"Alright," Zaraki began and I listened intently. I was more determined then ever to make the team, and some blood thirsty coach wasn't going to stop me.

"Here's how tryouts work. We're going to do an exercise known as Hell Week. And believe me, it will be hell, I can sincerely assure you." Zaraki said with a smirk, and I hesitantly raised my hand.

"Uh, sir?" I asked nervously, though I tried to act confident, and the enormous giant known as coach Zaraki swiveled my way.

"What is it?" He practically snarled, and I flinched in spite of my resolve. Then I caught sight of Toshirou with a smug look on his unfairly gorgeous face, and straightened my spineless back (metamorphically).

"Uh... when do we start?" I spat out as quickly as humanely possible. Coach Zaraki stood stone still for a moment before glancing at his clipboard.

"What's your name?" He asked abruptly, and I gulped. Had I done something wrong?

"Karin Kurosaki." I said strongly, refusing to give Toshirou the satisfaction of seeing my fear. Coach Zaraki's eyes widened and he looked genuinely surprised for the first time.

"You're Ichigo's sister?!" He demanded and I didn't answer as I tried to figure out whether his reply was a compliment or an insult.

"Yeah, she is." Ichigo said before stepping away from his friends to hover protectively near me. I felt a rush of pleasure as I realized how much I missed my brother's presence.

Zaraki studied us for several moments before turning away with a grunt and scribbling a note to himself on the clipboard. I couldn't help but wonder whether that was good or bad, though the fact that Toshirou was glowering at me again made me feel optimistic.

"Look alike, so I guess it makes sense," Zaraki said, half to himself, before continuing. "Anyway, just so you know, Hell Week will officially be starting tomorrow. You could count today as Day 0 if you want, but it doesn't matter. _Anything else?_"

Zaraki said this last sentence with so much menace that I didn't doubt that if someone had a question, he'd put the poor person on an airplane and have them commit a kame kaze suicide mission.

"Good," He said when no one dared to raise their hands. "Anyway, for those of you who don't know what Hell Week is, I'll explain."

"Hell week is a week used to explore every strength and weakness of the ones trying out to the extreme detail. You'll do different tasks each day, like running one day and ball control the next day. If you slack off for ANY reason-" Here Zaraki began to look slightly demented.

"I will catch you or find out, and I will send you packing home so fast you won't know what hit you. There. Is. No. Way. In. _Hell_. That you'll ever make my team. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" We all chorused at the pause, and Zaraki smirked a creepy smirk.

"Good. Because if there is one thing I won't tolerate, it's slackers. I want to win, plain and simple. And if you have no desire to win, join the kiddie leagues. Varsity soccer is all about competition. Having fun can be an important factor, but you must win. AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR?!"

"YES SIR!" We all roared back, and Zaraki smiled and licked his lips, obviously pleased.

"Very well then. You're dismissed."

* * *

"So how was everyone's first day at school?!" My father asked in a bubbly, excited tone, and everyone shrugged except for Yuzu.

"It was great," She gushed, looking excited (traitor). "I had lunch with my teacher Ukitake-sama and we talked about cooking. It was wonderful!"

My father looked ecstatic at this proclamation, and I knew that in his insane head he felt that he'd made the right choice in moving away from Kyoto to Karakura.

"What about you Karin, how was your day?" My father started to interrogate me, and I didn't have the heart to puncture his happy bubble. Yet.

"The varsity coach is... interesting." I said neutrally, and both Rukia and Ichigo choked on their food. My father stared at them for several seconds before leaping to his feet, his face a mask of righteous... terror?

"NO! I WILL NOT LOOSE YOU AGAIN, MY DELINQUENT SON!!" The man bawled before throwing himself at Ichigo. The two rolled on the ground for several seconds before Ichigo finally managed to wrestle himself out of his fathers grip.

"Dammit dad, stop trying to rape me at every opportunity!" Ichigo snapped before drop kicking our dad out the room. We all stared for several seconds longer before my brother, with a huge anime tick standing out on his forehead, sat down.

Then we finished eating.

* * *

"Hitsugaya-sama!" The irritatingly shrill voices of the mob of girls made me wince and want to cover my ears. I watched in disbelief as the boy was quickly surrounded and girls asked him questions while fluttering eyelashes caked in make-up in his direction.

The pale haired boy seemed ready to get away, and gave his friends a desperate glance. Tatsuki rolled her eyes, looking weary.

"C'mon Chad, we've got work to do." She said with an over exaggerated yawn in Toshirou's direction, and the boy sent her a fierce look with his aquamarine eyes. Chad only nodded as began what I assumed was a daily procedure- saving Toshirou from mobs of fan girls.

"Why isn't _he_ in any of my classes?" I muttered to a nearby Orihime, unable to make myself say Toshirou's name. Orihime gave me a bright smile and proffered a plate of food.

"I'll tell you if you promise to deliver this to Matsumoto, she loves my cooking!" Orihime said in a good natured, bubbly voice, before frowning. "Funny thing is, no one else does..."

"Sure, whatever, I'll deliver 'em." I said quickly, Ichigo had warned me of Orihime's... unusual tastes in cooking, and I didn't want to stick around and have her ask me if I wanted to try some.

"Oh, well, alright, if you're sure. But would you like to try some fir-?"

I was gone with the package of food in my hands before she had a chance to finish her sentence.

* * *

**Day 1**

"I can't believe I got homework on the second day of school!" I exclaimed angrily, the weight of my backpack stuffed with history and English homework slowing me down as I made my way towards the soccer fields with Rukia, Tatsuki, and several other girls trying out for soccer.

"Yamamoto can be tough." Rukia said sympathetically, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye Tatsuki wince. We walked into the locker rooms and quickly started to change into our 'soccer clothes'.

I felt a slight blush of embarrassment at the sight of all the girls, how full their breasts were, how gorgeous they looked...

_Karin, _I scolded myself. _That's not like you. _And it wasn't, I almost never worried about things like the curves of my body, except in the changing room, were sometimes I couldn't help but to feel judgmental of myself.

"C'mon Karin, let's get moving!" Rukia said with a big smile, and I smiled back hesitantly. As we made our ways on to the fields I couldn't resist the urge to shiver at the sight of our coach- Zaraki Kenpachi.

While coach Gin Ichimaru was sometimes creepy and often snakelike, he was still a good co-coach, keeping in contact with parents, organizing practices, and helping to reinforce everything into the team Hollow's brain.

Coach Sousuke Aizen, however... was a completely different story. He knew what he was doing, but was also kind, authoritive, and he had a quiet humility that you couldn't help but respect and even love.

_And then there's Zaraki. _I thought sourly to myself. I could not bring myself to call him coach Zaraki, because nothing could be farther from the truth. The said man watched as the 50-some people made their way onto the field, staring at us all with his bright eyes.

"Right, is everyone ready for their first day of tryouts?!" Zaraki boomed, and several kids shuddered fearfully before a weak 'yes sir' escaped their lips. Zaraki looked mildly affronted at this and gave us all a pointed glare.

"I said- IS EVERYONE READY FOR THE FIRST DAY OF TRYOUTS!" He roared, and we all cried back the standard supply with as much (in some cases, strained) vehemence as possibly. Looking pleased, Zaraki pulled out a huge map of Karakura and showed us a route highlighted in purple.

"See this route?" Zaraki told us as he held it up and jabbed a thick finger at the route (I dimly noted a ring on his ring finger- so he was married. WTF?) "It's exactly five miles long. Your objective is to finish in a half hour."

"What the hell? That's insane!" A girl cried out as she pulled away from were she was trying to corner Toshirou. I recognized her as Mayano Fukiro and inwardly grimaced. Mayano was one of the girls who had only joined to try and get closer to Toshirou and/or the other popular guys. Silence filled the air as Zaraki gave her a hard stare before speaking in a cold, stony voice.

"Get out." He said expressionlessly, and Mayano blinked.

"W-wha-?" She stammered in surprise before Zaraki ruthlessly cut her off.

"I said, get out. I don't want whiners on my team, I don't like complaints. Now get out!" Zaraki finished the last sentence with a sharp retort, and Mayano slowly backed away before turning and fleeing with a fearful expression on her face.

We all watched her for several moments before Zaraki turned and glared at us with his one good eye. His good mood seemed to have evaporated, and I felt another chill of fear flicker through me.

"What are you waiting for?!" He snapped out irritably. "Stop wasting time and GET MOVING!" With that we all scrambled and tripped over ourselves before getting behind the ones who actually knew what they were doing.

I was soon near the front of the line next to a boy with shaggy brown hair and tan features. He ran easily, and I quickly recognized him from the soccer game. The boy then turned and gazed at me with brilliant blue eyes.

"Err, hey, what's up?" I said lamely, and the boy grinned good naturedly.

"Your Ichigo's sister aren't you?" He said, and I couldn't help but wonder if that was what people would ask me for the first few days. "I saw you at the soccer game, awesome job! I'm impressed, you're a good player. Names Ryu Kochiku."

I felt my face warm at the compliment and ducked my head, abashed by Ryu's praise. However, he soon cajoled me with his good nature into talking and pretty soon we were chattering animatedly.

Suddenly I realized that I was several minutes away from the 'finish line', and that Toshirou was slightly in front of me. Ignoring whatever Ryu had just said, I sped up and quickly surpassed Toshirou.

The pale haired boy shot me a startled look that changed to one of annoyance and he picked up the pace until he was past me. We kept increasing our speed until it was a full out sprint as we surged towards were Zaraki (how the hell did he beat us there?) was waiting. I shot past the huge man and jumped in the air, pumping my fists with childish abandon.

"Ye-es!" I yelled, and then blinked and looked around as I tried to spot my defeated opponent. "Where'd Toshirou go?" I said in bemusement, and Zaraki sent me a hard look.

"This was supposed to be a fast jog Kurosaki. What was that at the end?" He questioned, and I felt my face grow warm with embarrassment.

"Yeah Kurosaki, be a bit more careful." Came a familiar, snide voice, and I stiffened at the sight of Toshirou as he jogged calmly next to Ryu. Embarrassment flooded through and I turned away from Toshirou so as not to give him the satisfaction of seeing my flaming red cheeks.

Trying to calm myself and sully my bright red face, I unobtrusively observed our surroundings.

We all seemed to be by the ocean, near the sand dunes that made Karakura partly famous. The sand dunes were also a small tourist attraction, and I could see several dune buggies in the distance if I shaded my eyes against the glaring white sand.

"Well, now that everyone is here, I assume we're ready for our suicide runs up this here dune." Zaraki said with a grin as he pointed at the particularly fine "specimen" nearest us. I felt my knees, already tired from my impromptu race, go weak.

I was absolutely convinced by this point that Zaraki had a death wish.

A dull moan rose from the group, though Zaraki silenced it with another stony glare. He then took out the ever present clipboard and gave it a once over before calling out several names.

"Right, I want both Kurosakis, Hitsugaya, Kockiku, Nonkio and Ayako for the first 'wave'. Got it? Good, let's get started!" Zaraki instructed, and everyone called obediently stepped forward.

"Good luck." Ryu said with a friendly smile in my direction, and I nodded my head in return.

"You're going down Kurosaki." _He _muttered from my other side, crouched low as he prepared to spring forward and tear up the hill.

"Dream on pretty boy." I retorted, and Toshirou rolled his brilliant teal colored eyes.

"How imaginative," He returned. "I've _never _heard that one before-"

"Go!" Zaraki yelled, and we both set off automatically as we scrabbled and struggled up the sand hill. Making my way up to the top, I took a split second to wipe away the sweat already dripping down me before rocketing down the hill after Toshirou.

Catching up, we both spun a 360 degree turn in sync before shooting back halfway up the hill, the unsteady sand fighting us the whole way. Finally we finished by going up a quarter of the hill, and to my chagrin Toshirou took the lead at this point and finished in 'first place.'

"Nice try." He said with a smirk, and I sent him a viscous glare as I bent over and gasped. I couldn't help but feel slightly envious of all the guys, who were allowed to take off their shirts.

_You may have won this time, _I thought darkly to myself as I glowered into the back of the white crowned boys head. _But I'll get you back, just you wait and see._

* * *

I almost fell asleep in several classes, and I actually did take a small nap during lunch. This was because I'd stayed up half the night doing homework and then plotting several possible ways to exact my revenge on Toshirou- all of which ended in failure.

"You alright?" Matsumoto asked me with a concerned look in her pale grey eyes.

"Fine, fine." I said quickly, while simultaneously stifling a yawn. I didn't want anyone (especially Toshirou) to realize how sore I felt from yesterdays practice.

"Oh, okay. Just making sure because you like you got shagged last night." Matsumoto said in an offhand manner, and both Ichigo and I gagged on our food.

"W-what?!" We both sputtered, and Matsumoto blinked her pale, almost translucent grey eyes in our direction.

"Oh my," She laughed in surprise. "Do you not know what it means to get shagged? I thought you would at least Ichigo, considering-"

"I know what it means!" Ichigo interrupted, his face turning as bright as his hair. He then made several not-so-very-subtle gestures in Yuzu and my direction.

"Oh, I never knew you were a puppeteer as well as a soccer player Ichigo!" Matsumoto exclaimed with an innocent smile, and everyone except Ichigo and Toshirou burst out laughing.

* * *

**Day 2**

"Drop and gimme 50!" Ikkaku yelled mockingly as we raced onto the field, and I felt slightly nervous at this, for Ikkaku seemed to be implying something and it made me nervous.

Everyone got on the field and immediately groaned. For there stood Zaraki, his normal maniacal leer plastered onto his face.

"You heard Madarame my friends," Zaraki said, looking positively cheerful at our morbid expressions. "Do fifty push-ups, then 70 curl-ups, and 100 jumping-jacks. Now get moving!"

As I dropped to the ground and began to carefully pump my arms up and down, I heard a murmur of complaints from the unconditioned high schoolers who were trying out. I blocked them out as best as possible, wrapped in my own little world, until I heard a soft, sly voice.

"Keep on _pumping _Karin." Ryu told me with a lazy grin, and I started before blushing at the innuendo.

"Shut it. And shouldn't you be doing this too?" I demanded, and Ryu grinned before absently flicking a strand of hair out of his sapphire colored eyes.

"Probably," He admitted cheerfully. "But I saw you here and couldn't resist saying something." We both laughed and Ryu quickly started his push-ups.

By the time we'd finished everything Zaraki had told us to do, my arms, legs and abs were aching, though otherwise I felt good, unlike some people (One poor girl passed out in the middle of her push-ups and had to be taken away).

By this time there was only 20-30 people left, and I began to wonder if Zaraki's grueling training would eliminate the competition entirely so that only the fittest survived Hell Week.

"Good job everyone; now get into the groups that you raced against in suicides and practice juggling." Zaraki decided, and I winced. Juggling had never been my strong point, and I wasn't looking forward to what Toshirou would say when he saw my shitty skills.

"Gather round," Toshirou said imperiously, and I rolled my eyes. "Let's get started. You can start the ball, _Kurosaki._" Toshirou told me with a malignant look in his beautiful eyes, as though he knew my one weakness.

Sighing, I closed my eyes, imagined it was Toshirou's head, and kicked it a bit harder then I intended. There was an "oof" as the ball slammed into Toshirou's stomach and sent him sprawling, and I stood there, torn between being mortified and bursting out into laughter.

"Oops?" I said weakly.

* * *

"Argh, she drives me off the wall!" I heard a voice explode the next day. Looking around the corner, I saw Toshirou and Matsumoto talking. In a fit of anger, the white crowned boy had slammed his fist into his locker.

"She's always glaring at me or saying these stupid smart-aleck comments to me. It's like she thinks she's better." Toshirou spat, and I could tell Matsumoto was struggling hard not to laugh.

"Remind you of anyone?" She asked gently, and Toshirou gave her a blank look.

"Of course not. I doubt there's anyone in the school as irritating and stuck-up as Kurosaki Karin!" Toshirou snapped, and I crept away, silently stewing with anger and hurt.

"You look glum." My brother told me at lunch, and I started before blinking.

"Ichi-nee? Do you think I'm stuck up or irritating?" I asked him, and my brothers bright brown eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course not," Was his immediate response, realizing instinctively (He calls it his 'brotherly instincts') that what I wanted was reassurance and not some sarcastic reply.

Feeling grateful, I opened my mouth to thank him, but then Rukia slid onto his other side and busied him with a kiss, so I contented myself to eating my food.

* * *

**Day 3**

"Get in a group with someone and starting passing. I don't want you standing still, so get moving! No cold feet, you don't stand and wait for a pass, you move for it. Now start!" Zaraki commanded, and everyone immediately congregated. For a moment I looked around wildly, unsure what to do, but then I caught sight of Ryu.

"Will you be my partner?" I asked hopefully, and he sent me a blinding white smile.

"'Course I will." He said genially, and then passed the ball before shooting off. I trapped it and flicked it back before surging into open space. Quickly growing bored with the drill, we began to talk.

"How long have you been on the team?" I asked him, and Ryu yawned.

"Since I became a sophomore." He told me, and I nodded, filing the information away.

"I see. What about... Toshirou? How long has he been on the team?" I asked, and Ryu frowned, looking suddenly irritated.

"Since he became a freshman, which is really rare ya'know. But then again, he's always been really good at sports. I also hear that he takes self defense lessons." Ryu informed me with a frown, and I got the feeling that he didn't like talking about Toshirou much. Then again, neither did I, but now I was curious.

"Self-defense lessons?" I asked, and Ryu pursed his lips as he neatly popped the ball over someone's head, right into my feet.

"Yeah, it makes since, considering the fact that his dads super rich and the guys a 'genius'." Ryu said the last part sarcastically with air quotes, and I laughed even though I felt kind of mean.

But if Toshirou was a genius, then it explained why he wasn't in any of my classes. I had the ludicrous thought of thanking him for this, but held it off by smashing the ball neatly into Ryu's waiting feet.

After that we did several more passing drills, and then finished up with dribbling exercises.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Zaraki said at least, and I resisted the urge to flop onto the ground despite the fact that I was better in shape then most.

_Today was almost as bad as day one. _I thought to myself with a grimace, before bringing myself to listen to whatever Zaraki had to say.

"Now that we have all the basics out of the way- dribbling, passing, running, conditioning, and all that- we're going to be finishing up the week with offense, defense, and some scrimmages to see how everyone fares. We'll probably practice shooting with offense, for those of you who are curious. Dismissed!" Zaraki called out, and left as quickly as possibly without injuring themselves.

I accidentally bumped into Toshirou, who sent me a fierce glare.

"Watch it." He snapped angrily, and I sent him a furious look, feeling slightly hurt as I remembered what he had said that morning.

"Why don't you just fuck off instead?" I snapped before pushing past the startled boy.

That night as I lay in bed, sore from the day's events, I thought about Toshirou. He felt that I was stuck-up and irritating, but then he was self-centered and obnoxious. The only reason anyone still liked him was because he had a gorgeous body, something I didn't have any qualms admitting.

What confused me, however, was why my brother was obviously friends with him. The Ichigo I knew would never put up with the way that Toshirou acted, so why did he take crap from him and still consider him a "friend".

Toshirou was an enigma that I probably would never understand, nor did I want to. He was rude, mean, and a rich brat of a genius. As far as I was concerned, there was no room for discussion, that was who he was.

Case closed.

* * *

**Author Note: So was it okay? For those of you who might be wondering, this story sorta-not-really has a definite plot, but it won't get kicked off until much later. Also I'd like to thank ShikallllTema, shrimpnoodlesoup, elvira, hellbutterfly421, christycard, Hikari6007, and Domini-chan for reviewing. Ciao!**

**-Firefox**


	5. Hell Week Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don' own Bleach. Ya got a problem wit it; take it up wit me outside the saloon at high noon. (Sorry, I started working on a southern unit in American History).**

**Author Note: Righto, first off- thank you for all the glorious reviews! At the end of the chapter is my reply to some of the questions that were asked. Other then that, here's the end of Hell Week!**

**Hell Week Part 2**

* * *

**Day 4**

"What the hell are you doing Kurosaki?! Put your whole body into it when you're shooting!" Zaraki shouted as Kira drilled me into the ground after Chad made a spectacular save from my shot.

Gritting my teeth, I stumbled to my feet and caught sight of Toshirou's smirking face. I felt fury ripple through me at the sight of that smug face, which only increased ten-fold when he easily slipped past the defender- some no-name who hadn't been on the summer team- and scored a beautiful goal.

Here's what we were doing, it was a drill for offensive shooting, though technically I would call it a one-on-one.

First a line was formed for the offensive and defensive players (midfielders were considered offense while Chad hit the goal) and then Chad punted in balls while a defender and an offensive player charged after the ball and attempted to either get it out of bounds or score.

I'd been doing quite well until I'd been matched with Kira, one of the best defenders on the summer team despite his timid appearance.

"I'm sorry, are you alright?" Kira asked, and I nodded while brushing myself off in as dignified a manner as possible.

"I'm just fine," I muttered, trying hard to look at anyone other then the smug Toshirou. My brother shot a concerned glance and started to make his way over towards me, but Zaraki stopped him in his tracks.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Kurosaki?" The man asked in a dangerous voice. "It's your turn." Recognizing the tone immediately, Ichigo prudently decided he enjoyed his balls right where they were and headed back in line.

After several more rounds of _that _drill (In which I made sure to score several more goals) we got paired into teams of two to do the same thing.

And naturally, I was put with Toshirou.

"Go!" Zaraki barked, and all four players (the defense was Renji and some girl named Hari) streaked out on the field. I realized that I should break off and let Toshirou take the ball, but some stubborn part inside me refused to give in to the little handsome bastard.

"Rarh!" I yelled before neatly stealing the ball from the startled Toshirou and making a run for the goal. Once Renji and Hari had recovered, however, they flocked on me and Renji managed to get the ball and kick it 'out of bounds'.

"Kurosaki!" Both Zaraki and Toshirou roared at the same time. "What the hell was that?! You're supposed to support Toshirou, who obviously had the ball, not take it from him!" Zaraki finished vehemently, and I winced.

"Sorry...sir." I said painfully, and Zaraki took several calming breaths before opening his eye to give me a kill-inducing stare.

"I won't forget that, Kurosaki," He growled. "Now get back in line."

* * *

**Day 5**

"Oh, coach Zaraki is so cruel." Matsumoto simpered as I told her about everything that had transpired the day before.

"I can't help that I dislike the fuckin', enigmatic, way too handsome-for-his-own good, bastard." I snarled angrily, and Matsumoto blinked.

"Zaraki?" She asked in confusion, and I shook my head irritably.

"No! I'm talking about Hitsuguya-freaking-Toshirou-argh! I can't even say his name without getting pissed off!" I said, accentuating my anger with a slam on the condiments table, and Matsumoto stared at me in surprise before giggling.

"Ho, ho, ho, I never thought the day would come!" Matsumoto said with a big grin and a jiggle of her huge breasts (causing the poor boy nearby to spill soy sauce all over himself without realizing it, he was so enraptured).

"What the hell are you Santa Claus or something?" I demanded irritably, and then frowned suspiciously. "And what was that last part supposed to mean?!"

"Did you know they say that people who dislike each other actually harbor feelings for them?" Matsumoto said gleefully, and I gaped at her.

"Hell no," I finally said. "You think _I_ like-?"

"Uh-huh," She said with a broad smile.

"_Toshirou?!_" I demanded, and then at the sight of her practically bouncing up and down with excitement- "_Have you LOST your mind?!_" I demanded, and Matsumoto blinked, looking puzzled.

"Not that I know of." She told me as we sat down at our lunch table, and before I could think up a reply, we were distracted by Toshirou, who had gotten into a sneezing fit.

"God bless you, Taicho." Matsumoto said with a mischievous smile, and Toshirou shrugged before casting me a quick glare.

"No problem. Hey Matsumoto, did you know that some people say when you sneeze it means someone's talking about you?" Toshirou said as he dug into his noodles. Matsumoto laughed and shot me a calculating look.

"You shouldn't believe in such silly rumors, Taicho." Matsumoto told him with a huge smile, and Toshirou nodded agreeably.

"You're probably right Matsumoto," He decided. "For once." He added under his breath.

I laughed into the food I was eating, then attempted to turn it into a cough.

* * *

"We'll be starting flag football everyone," Sasakibe announced, his amber colored eyes unusually bright and viscous. I fought the urge to groan- just what I needed, the one sport I hated with all my heart.

"Get into groups and we will start several drills that I have planned for the day." Sasakibe told us, but I doubt anyone heard, the popular girls to busy moaning while all the football jocks grinned at each other, though they were slightly put out that it wasn't tackle football.

I felt my face warm as I realized I didn't have a group, and felt a rush of relief when someone called out to me.

"You can join our group." The girl said with a simpering smile, and I was torn between feeling grateful and feeling immense dislike.

The girl was one of those rich, sluty whores who everyone fawned over except the girls on the soccer team. She had long, thick black hair, a tan complexion (she's probably one of those girls who falls asleep in tanning beds), and the most startling blue eyes I'd ever seen.

As for her gym clothes, they weren't exactly school material. She wore a very revealing blue half dress half shirt, and the shortest shorts I'd ever seen in my life (I swear, it takes 'short shorts' to a whole new level).

"I'm Hakari Moneruto." The girl said with a huge, overly friendly smile, and I felt all of my defensive instincts flood through me.

"Kurosaki Karin." I said guardedly, and Hakari gave me another creepy grin.

"Oh really! So are you related, by chance, to that cute senior Kurosaki Ichigo?" She fluttered, and I almost gagged.

My brother, cute? In his dreams, maybe.

"Err, yeah," I said lamely, even though I was beginning to wish I had begged another team to let me join, maybe even Toshirous' (the brat is in my gym, the only class we share. I know, it sucks).

Okay, maybe not _that_ much.

"That's SO cool!" She exclaimed, and everyone collapsed into giggles. I stared at them blankly, uncomfortably aware of my brothers-way-to-big gray t-shirt and my soccer shorts that I was wearing for gym. They stopped laughing almost robotically, and Hakari smiled at me before popping the question I probably should've been expecting.

"So I hear you know Hitsugaya-sama. Isn't he simply a hottie?" She asked, and I bit my tongue to stop myself from gagging, before fixing a fake smile on my face.

"Yeah, he would be cute if he wasn't _jackass_." I said the last word loudly, and grinned when Toshirou fumbled the football and dropped it. All the girls looked shocked, and immediately began to whisper to each other. I got the feeling that I had lost points with them, but I didn't really care.

"Hey! Why aren't you guys working the passing drill?!" Sasakibe barked, and we all obediently got in a line while Hakari shot me looks when she thought I wasn't looking.

* * *

"Get low to the ground Kurosaki! That's right, now shuffle your feet and try to steal the ball from your sister." Zaraki told Ichigo, and the young man grunted before complying. I did a fake to the right, the attempted to play the ball along my right foot, but Ichigo recovered at an insane rate and stole the ball back.

"Very good Kurosaki! And you too, Kurosaki!" Zaraki roared his approval, and we both shot him confused looks. Zaraki rolled his one eye before pointing at Toshirou.

"Kurosaki, your defense, Hitsugaya, play the dumb offender." Zaraki told us, and I felt myself stiffen. Dropping low as Zaraki had demonstrated with Kira and Renji, I glowered at Toshirou, who stared back with his obstinate, beautiful teal colored eyes.

Racing forward the instant Zaraki passed the ball; Toshirou pulled a beautiful pirouette, the ball between his legs, as he shot past me. My face burning, I dropped the stance and slide tackled him neatly (no mistakes this time, thank god).

"Kurosaki! Hitsugaya! What do you not understand about DUMB DEFENDER?!" Zaraki demanded furiously as we got up, and I wiped the mud off my shorts.

"Sorry sir." I muttered mutinously while Toshirou merely crossed his arms and sulked. Gnashing his teeth loudly for all of us to hear, Zaraki stormed forward and pointed at the two of us with thick fingers.

"Hitsugaya, work with Kuchiki. Kurosaki, you're working with your brother." Zaraki ordered, and I walked over to my brother.

"Karin," My brother said with a sigh as he rubbed his temples and got into a defensive crouch.

"What?!" I snapped defensively, even though I knew he was just trying to help.

"Maybe you should be a bit nicer to Toshirou. He's not all that bad once you get to know him." Ichigo told me, and I frowned at him.

"Not only that," Ichigo continued. "But Toshirou is used to getting his way. If you keep antagonizing him, he'll strike back, I guarantee it." I didn't reply as we switched our positions.

I thought of what we were learning in English class, a unit on Jane Austin, a famous romance/comedy writer.

"If I endeavor to undeceive people as to the rest of his conduct, who will believe me? The general prejudice against Mr. Darcy is so violent that it would be the death of half the good people in Meryton, to attempt to place him in an amiable light." I quoted, and my brother had no reply to that.

* * *

**Day 6**

"Right, tomorrow is the last day of Hell Week," Zaraki told us, and I heard a sigh of relief escape the crowd of teenagers. "Today we'll be practicing two on ones, and then twos on threes, which is often how things can work out in soccer games. We'll start in groups of threes, you can choose for today." Zaraki decided, and several kids cheered, as Zaraki had picked partners for us all week.

"Hey Kurosaki! Come be in a group with Rukia and me!" Came a friendly voice, and I turned to see Tatsuki standing next to Rukia. Feeling pleased, I jogged over towards them.

"Girl power!" Rukia and Tatsuki both cheered with a laugh, and I couldn't but join in, it was so infectious. They quickly got serious, and we got down to earth. Rukia and me both played offense, while Tatsuki did defense.

Then we switched to two defenders (Rukia and Tatsuki) and one offender (me). It took me several seconds to realize that Zaraki was studying me, and I turned to give him a curious look.

"Am I doing something wrong?" I asked in consternation, afraid he'd make me do a lap or two or three or a lot. Zaraki just grunted.

"Nah, but that wasn't to bad a move. Kurosaki told me you were on the summer Kyoto Hollows team. Is this true?" He asked, and I wondered whether or not I should lie. I decided that honesty was always better in a situation like this.

Especially when there was laps at stake.

"Yeah, I was. But then I moved here." I said, feeling a pang of resentfulness towards my father and intense homesickness for Kyoto.

"I see." Was all that Zaraki said, before scribbling a note down at the fucked up clipboard.

Once Zaraki was satisfied that everyone was properly tired from the two on ones, he made it three on two.

"Let's see... how about Tatsuki and Kurosaki (younger) against Kira, Renji and Chad." Zaraki decided, and Toshirou rolled his eyes.

"Watch out Tatsuki, she steals the ball from her own teammates." He advised, and I bristled in his direction. As we started, I accidentally-on-purpose kicked the ball in Toshirou's direction, and felt satisfied when it nailed him in the head.

"I'm _so_ sorry," I called out as he struggled to his feet, face flaming red. "You alright?"

If he wasn't a _proper _gentleman, I'm positive Toshirou would've given me the middle finger.

* * *

**Day 7**

"Finally, the last day of Hell Week." My brother told me as we met outside the locker rooms. I, however, didn't feel relieved, just nervous and high strung.

What if I didn't make the team? How would I ever put up with Toshirou or my brother _or _my father? I grimaced at the thought of the last one, and then took comfort in what Yuzu had told me that morning.

"_Even if you don't make it,"_ She had said. "_You'll still be my older twin sister._"

All the same, I really wanted to make the team.

"SCEERIMAGE!" Zaraki shouted as we walked out onto the field, and I was surprised to him practically bouncing off the balls of his huge feet. "15 ON 15, NO SUBS! LOSER RUNS FIVE LAPS OR MORE, DEPENDING ON MY MOOD!"

Zaraki yelled, and I shot my brother a glance. Was it technically a scrimmage if there were more player playing then in a normal game. Ichigo, however, merely shrugged.

"That's just the way he rolls." Ryu whispered to me from my other side, and I grinned at him.

Our teams were divided and then we got under way, with Ryu, myself, and Tatsuki as forward, some no-names and Ichigo as midfielders and wings (basically far out mids) and then a bunch of defenders and Kira.

I glared into the eyes of my nemesis, who stared back with two sharp, flinty blue0green eyes.

"You ready Toshirou-_Taicho."_ I said the prefix in with mocking and derision heavy in my tone, and Toshirou flushed an angry red.

"I was born ready, Kurosaki." He replied, and I gritted my teeth at the arrogance in his voice. Then Ryu tapped me the ball and I exploded forward.

That scrimmage I played like I never had before. I passed, dribbled, guarded and more with a grace and ease only matched (as much as I hated to admit it) by Toshirou. I scored three out of our five goals, and stopped Toshirou from making four in the nick of time.

However, despite all my valiant efforts, the game still ended in a tie- five to five.

Zaraki was so torn and sad that he didn't get to have a loser to run that he made _both _teams run five _miles_.

"What a frickin' way to the end the week." Renji gasped as we skidded to a halt at the 'finish line'. I nodded my agreement while Ryu tossed me a water bottle.

"Thirsty?" He asked, and I nodded, touched, before slopping down the water. Then I handed him the remains and grinned, my stomach cramping slightly from draining so much water so quickly.

"Thirsty?" I asked jokingly, and everyone in the vicinity laughed as we walked back to take a shower and changed, glad we had made it through the week.

The next day I was too nervous to eat, and sat in Ichigo's car for a half hour while impatiently waiting for him to finish eating. Once again I was going through all my doubts, feeling my whole body shake with anticipation.

Rukia and Ichigo, much to my disgust, had obviously had sex the night before, and were sending each other secret smiles and touches and _moving at the pace of a hundred year old tortoise. _

"Will you hurry up?!" I finally shouted, and they both gave me startled looks as if they were surprised to see me, and I had to roll my eyes at them.

"Err, yeah, we're coming." Ichigo said once he recovered from my outburst, and they both got in the car and we drove off to school. Finally.

I literally flew down the halls of Karakura High, with poor Yuzu, Ichigo, and Rukia at my heels, until I came to a crashing stop in front of the office were the players had been posted, as Zaraki had told us the day before.

**High School Shinigami Team**

**Hitsugaya Toshirou**

**Karin Kurosaki**

**Ichigo Kurosaki**

**Rukia Kuchiki**

**Tatsuki Arisawa**

**Sado Yatsora**

**Ryu Kochiku**

**Kira Izuru**

**Renji Abarai**

**Madarame Ikkaku**

**Akira Akiyama**

**Dai Fujita**

**Kiyoshi Fudu **

**Shimo Taru**

**Toyo Shigekazu**

**Masa Kin**

**Jiro Amida**

**Kano Taro**

I was so happy I ran to the bathroom and promptly puked.

**Author Note: Finished! It's alot shorter then my other chapters, but whatever. Again, thank you for all the glorious reviews! I won't put down everyone who reviewed, because there was quite a few, but I will answer some of the questions asked.**

**A Pupeteer is someone who can control puppets.**

**Also, this story is about how Karin and Toshirou dislike each other but slowly grow to like one another and then possibly fall in love... if schemeing girls, jealous brothers, and pycho dance teachers/soccer coaches don't get in the way.**

**-Firefox**


	6. War

**Disclaimer: I don' own no watchamacallit. And Bleach.**

**Author Note: Sorry for the wait, I'm kinda busy what with homework and crap. Also, I still have to finish my other fics (tee-hee) so those should PROBABLY come first. Just saying. ANYWAY! Please enjoy. Also, I couldn't decide on a title, so I did two. **

**War**

**or**

**Paradigm Shift**

* * *

"Hiyah!" My martial arts teacher, Soi Fon, cried before doing a round house kick to my gut and sending me flying. I hit the ground and let out a long, slow groan of pain. Soi Fon returned to her original, stoic position before speaking.

"Something seems to be bothering you, Hitsugaya-sama. You've been attacking wildly for the past half-hour." She observed, and I clenched my teeth. I hated losing, even if it was to my teacher.

"Sorry," I muttered grudgingly, and Soi Fon frowned.

"We might as well have a water break. Why not tell me what's bothering you?" She suggested, and I hesitated. I liked Soi Fon the best of any of my instructors, with one possible exception, but I'd never really opened up to her, or anyone for that matter, before.

"Why not?" I decided with a shrug. I mean, it couldn't hurt to tell Soi Fon a little bit of my frustration, right? After going through several quick cool down exercises, the two off us sat down at a bench and downed some water.

"Well...there's this girl," I began, and then winced at the sight of Soi Fon's knowing expression. "It's not what you think!" I added hurriedly, and Soi Fon smiled slightly.

"Continue." She told me, and I hesitated before speaking.

"Her names Kurosaki Karin, and for some reason, she absolutely hates me! I mean, it's not like I'm in love with her or anything, but it's ridiculous! I haven't done anything to her!" I explained heatedly, and Soi Fon frowned.

"Are you sure you haven't offended her somehow?" Soi Fon asked, and I thought hard. I had tripped her once, but as far as I could tell, that was it. Well, maybe I'd belittled her slightly during Hell Week, but that hardly counted in my mind.

"No...No, of course not." I told her, and felt indignant at her skeptical look. Soi Fon sighed and then thought for several seconds before opening her bright eyes.

"Why don't you try ignoring her? Don't rise to any attempts to bate or frustrate you, just ignore her as a waterfall ignores the rocks it cascades down." Soi Fon advised, and I blinked, considering. I would prefer to inflict some sort of painful and excruciating revenge, but Soi Fon apparently caught my train of thought.

"Revenge only breeds ill, Hitsugaya-sama." She told me matter-o-fact, and I flinched guiltily.

"Yes, Soi Fon-dono." I said obediently, as was expected of a martial arts student.

* * *

"Yay, you're- oh, it's just you." I rolled my eyes at the sight of my disappointed swordsmen teacher- Urahara Kisuke. Ugh.

"Exactly who were you expecting, hm?" I asked as I walked across the storage room of Urahara's candy shop and grabbed the wooden katana hanging off of the wall. Urahara sighed and cast the doorway a longing glance, as though expecting someone, anyone, to come bursting through the door and save him from his charge- me.

"Not you," He answered with a sigh, and I grunted with annoyance, though I was fairly sure of who he was waiting for. Urahara then gave me an evil look, causing me to take a step back.

"I'm going to give you hell for that last game." He threatened, and I gave him a defiant look.

"Bring it on." I said, spoiling our face off with a huge, wolfish grin. Urahara laughed as he pulled out his own wooden blade before flicking it nonchalantly towards the trapdoor that led to Urahara's gigantic basement.

"You are something else, Toshirou." He said with a shake of his head, and I shrugged.

"You shouldn't be talking." I countered, and Urahara laughed.

"Point taken. Now shut up so we can get started, you're father isn't paying me to work my butt off for nothing." Urahara said, and I nodded. We then went down into the basement, and I once again marveled at the sheer size.

I mean, who has enough time to create a harsh dessert of a landscape that stretches for miles as his basement?

...Urahara, enough said.

I then bowed towards Urahara, who bowed back (Although I don't quite get the point of that, as an enemy isn't going to wait for me to bow to him/her- probably her in my unfortunate case- so why bother?) and we flicked up our wooden blades.

The next twenty minutes was a whirl of action and counter-action. I would strike, fast as snake, and then instantly be on guard for an attack from Urahara, which invariably always came. For no matter I did, or what trick I pulled, Urahara always seemed one step ahead of me.

As the seconds became minutes, then the minutes turned to an hour or so, I felt my arms grow heavy as sweat poured down my face. My hair, irritatingly enough, kept falling into my face, and I had to take a few vital seconds off my barrage to push it back.

To my annoyance Urahara, however, had not broken into sweat yet and seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. Realizing I only had so much time left before my arms gave away, I lunged forward desperately at the sight of a brief opening.

Urahara, however, merely side-stepped before calmly sticking out a sandaled foot. I let out a cry as I fell flat on my face, then felt the grain of the blunt wooden tip against my neck.

"Dead, dead, and dead." Urahara said in a sing-song voice, and I let out a growl before spinning around and chopping his legs with my feet. Urahara let out a yelp as I stumbled to my feet, grinning victoriously.

"I win," I said in a smug tone, and Urahara groaned before sitting up, rubbing his ankles.

"That's no fair," He complained. "You cheated. No martial arts in swords class."

"You should use whatever asset is available at the time of attack." I said primly, and Urahara grimaced as his own advice was parroted back to him.

"Yeah, well this doesn't count, so I win." He proclaimed, and I rolled my eyes. How did I manage to put up with the man, who had the spirit of a twelve year adolescent?

"Whatever," I said, and then added under my breath. "Sore loser." Urahara scowled before getting up to brush himself and wince.

"That hurt... I need to tell Soi Fon to tone it down a little." He mumbled, and I smirked. Then he flopped on the ground again, absently twirling his katana.

"What was the point of getting up if you're just going to lie down again?" I asked him, and Urahara shrugged.

"I felt like it, that's why. The power to choose is just that... power." He said in his oh-I-am-so-wise voice. I yawned slightly before flopping next to him. It felt good to be able to just relax without having to worry about hordes of girls, my father or... her.

"You should've been a psychologist." I said, feeling slightly drowsy as the wind tousled my hair (wait a minute, where did the wind- ah, what the heck. Who can understand this weird place?).

"Nah, too stuffy. I hate stuffy. This, however, is the life... when I'm not getting my feet taken out from under me by rich brats who cheat."

"I'll beat you, sword-on-sword, one day." I promised him, and Urahara smiled slightly.

"I'm looking forward to it." He told me, and I felt a contented smile grace my lips. As much as I despised Urahara's happy-go-lucky nature, I knew I could always turn to him... unlike my father.

I frowned at this thought, trying to push it away.

_He does care, you know. _A little voice whispered, and I sighed pensively.

"Hey, Urahara."

"Shouldn't you technically be calling me master?"

"...Hey, Urahara."

"...What?"

"Why did you become a shop owner instead of a master swordsman?" I asked, the question had often bugged me, though I'd never thought to ask it before. Urahara shrugged before sitting up.

"I dunno," He said with a stretch. "That just wasn't what I wanted to do. Simple as that."

I wish my life was that simple.

* * *

"Hitsugaya-Taicho!" Came the all too familiar cry of Matsumoto. Suddenly all I could see was flesh and a heavy warmth, much to my displeasure.

"Matsumoto! Get off!" I shouted as I pulled away, and Matsumoto pouted, looking put out.

"Aw, you're no fun Taicho." She whined, and I shrugged carelessly.

"Get used to it; it's my goal in life to make sure you don't have fun. At least not around me." I told her, and Matsumoto sulked for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, this left me to the savage nature of my mortal enemy- woman.

"Hitsugaya-Taicho." A simpering voice called, and I gritted my teeth. I really disliked it when anyone other then my friends called me that, it annoyed me to no end. Turning, I spotted a pretty girl with huge (probably fake) breasts and startlingly blue eyes.

"Hello..." I tapered off, unsure what the girls name was.

"Moneruto Hikari. But you can call me Hikari." Hikari said with a coy smile, and I gave an unresponsive grunt.

"Sure, whatever you say." I said, distracted by the sight of Karin Kurosaki. She gave me a mocking look, her dark eyes glittering. When I'd first met her, I'd felt attracted to those eyes, for they reminded me so much of _her_.

But then, of course, she'd been extremely nasty and irritating after that first moment, so why did it matter? Well, maybe I hadn't been exactly social, but it was soccer game, for crying out loud.

"Hitsugaya-Taicho?" Hikari simpered, and I opened my mouth to brush her off when Sasakibe appeared.

"Everyone! Warm up, please." He called, and I broke into a quick run, pulling away from Hikari and the swarm of girls surrounding me. I looked to my right to see, surprise, surprise, Karin.

"Go away." I growled out, irritated that she had the nerve to follow me, and Karin merely stuck out her tongue, completely ignoring me. I resisted the urge to stick out my foot, remembering what Soi Fon had told me.

Ignore, ignore, ignore, waterfall down rocks, ignore...

It worked, and I felt a flush of pleasure at the accomplishment. Sasakibe nodded in both our directions.

"Nice effort you two." He complimented, and I nodded distantly, distracted by the sight of the ominously shaped brow pig skin football in my teacher's arms. I really hated football, the game made no sense in my mind, plus the ball seemed specially designed so that I fumbled it every single time I was passed too.

Sasakibe then divided us up into groups, and I found, to my horror, that I was with both Hikari _and_ Karin. Why did the world seem to be against me? As luck would have it, however, the sky- an overcast, crummy atmosphere- let loose a torrent of water at that moment.

"Gah, everyone, come in." Sasakibe called, and everyone cheered except the football jocks and myself. Showing my expressions was over rated, in my opinion. We all made our way back to the school, while I inwardly sent a prayer of thanks up to whatever god/s lived up in the never ending expanse of sky.

* * *

"Yeah! The first soccer party of the year! At your house, I presume?" Abarai shouted enthusiastically as I handed out the invitations. I regarded him balefully before nodding.

"Yes... everything's on the invite." I told him coolly. Abarai smiled, looking pleased. Then I gritted my teeth and headed over to where Kurosaki, Kuchiki, and _she _was talking.

"Invites," I said, not looking at Karin, and both Kurosaki and Kurosaki grabbed them eagerly. Karin hesitantly took her own, dark brown eyes suspicious.

"Invites to what?" She asked, and I was tempted to say _'none of your business, you brat.' _But I didn't. Instead-

"A party. You know, something where a bunch of people gather around at a place to socialize and, here's a shocker, _have fun_." I said sarcastically, and several girls nearby fake laughed, even though I was positive they had no idea what I was talking about.

Ichigo had a resigned look on his face, while Kuchiki seemed to be fighting off the urge to giggle. Karin, meanwhile, had flushed a delightful shade of red, much to my amusement. I smirked at her before walking off, feeling triumphant.

Score one for the genius, null for the ignoramus.

* * *

"Hitsugaya! Take the team for a jog! I don't care were you go, just NO WALKING!" Coach Kenpachi roared, and I gave a sharp nod before heading away from the soccer field.

It was still drizzling drearily, but something like that doesn't put off someone psychotic like Coach Kenpachi. As a matter of fact, the only thing that probably could take down someone like Coach Kenpachi was a semi-truck. And even then, I'm not sure.

I don't know how to explain it but practice felt... different. It seemed almost as if I had my friends, Renji, Madarame, and a couple others, while Karin had her own posse- Ryu, Ichigo, Arisawa, and several more.

We worked on juggling and slid tackling after that, finishing up with a game of dutch (where Coach Kenpachi kicks a ball right at your face and expects you too score. If you miss, you become goalie. After two goals are scored on you in goal, you have to sprint around the field until the game finishes. It can definitely be classified as torture in some cases).

All in all, I felt rather satisfied, though it was slightly dampened when Coach Kenpachi was forced to call the game a draw between Karin and myself (how unfair).

I went home dripping wet (it really started to pour near the end) but satisfied.

Three day's later, it was time to party.

It was a pool party, and the day was perfect. Unusually hot for October, we later found out that the temperature record had been broken that day. And it was very warm, much to my displeasure. I hated the heat, it made me feel hot and sweaty and generally unpleasant.

However, I consoled myself with thoughts of how cool the water would feel while hanging out with my friends.

"Honey, I had the chef cook your favorite meal. I also have all your favorite snacks and candies. Are you ready? I think I just heard the doorbell ring." I heard my mother call up from below, and I looked down.

I was shirtless (because all the girls had boyfriends, except Karin, go figure, I didn't have to worry about anyone salivating over me) with my favorite blue and white swimming trunks on.

"Yes, I'm ready and I'm coming mother!" I called out before running out of my large, spacious room and bounding down the huge staircase. There stood a cheerful Kurosaki and a surly Karin. My footsteps slowed.

_Just what I needed to make my day. _I thought to myself as looked into her spiteful hazel colored eyes. Ignoring her, I strode towards Kurosaki.

"Hey there Kurosaki, how are you?" I asked, and Kurosaki nodded in my direction.

"Pretty good," He said, before sniffing the air and grinning. "Is that pizza I smell? Aw, you shouldn't have." With this said Kurosaki made a beeline to the kitchen, and I glanced at the nearby butler.

"Make sure that one doesn't eat all the food." I instructed, and the butler nodded before sidling off. Then I was left in an uncomfortable silence with Karin.

"So..." I trailed off, suddenly unsure what to say. "Uh, welcome to my humble abode." Karin's mouth twitched, but what came out of her mouth was spiteful and cruel.

"I could care less about a rich brat's home." She snapped, and I stiffened angrily. What was wrong with this girl? Seething inwardly, I felt a relieved and a little irritable as the doorbell rang.

Relieved because someone was here to keep me company, and irritable because now I couldn't twist Karin's neck.

It turned put to be Arisawa and Kuchiki, both extensively dressed up. At the sight of Karin, Rukia spoke up instantly.

"Where's Ichigo?" She asked possessively, and Karin smirked.

"Where else? The kitchen of course." She said, and I resisted the urge to laugh while both Arisawa and Kuchiki laughed openly and loudly.

My murder moment averted, the next several hours passed smoothly. Everyone came, laughing and joking all the while, and we had a great time. I felt a slight pang that Uryuu hadn't made the team, but hadn't had the heart not to invite him either. Another reason to dislike Karin, who had usurped his position.

After everyone had eaten (Abarai was outraged when he found out Kurosaki had already finished off a pizza without him) there was much merry talk and laughter before we dressed to go outside in the pool.

I was surprised when I saw that Karin hadn't gotten dressed, but didn't say anything, waiting to see what would happen (not that I wanted to see her in a bathing suit, pervert). Then I was distracted when Madarame leaped into the pool, getting everyone in the vicinity wet.

"He is so dead." I muttered before leaping in. The water felt cool and delicious compared to the hot and muggy air, and I struck out a stroke before wrestling underwater with Madarame.

Several hours later, I was very pleased with how the party was going. Everyone was laughing and yelling and basically having a good time. Except for Karin.

My interest was piqued by the fact that she simply sat there and stared, never making a move to enter into the water. Curious, I got out of the water and shook myself, water flying everywhere. Karin scowled and shielded herself.

"Hey, watch where you're drying off dog-boy!" She jeered, and I glowered at her. She was so _annoying. _Why couldn't she just be quiet? It didn't help that the sun had been beating relentlessly on my head, and I was feeling the coming on of a headache.

Walking inside, I grabbed a piece of candy and popped it into my mouth. I loved candy, its sweetness was just so addicting in my mind. Feeling slightly better, I walked back outside to see Karin on the edge of the pool, shouting something at her brother.

"You idiot Ichi-nee! Be more careful where you're splashing around!"She shouted, and I merely stared.

_Don't do it Hitsugaya, it's not worth it...you're a waterfall...a waterfall... ah what the heck. _Running forward, I shoved hard against Karin's back. It felt wonderful after all the nasty comments she'd given me, and I felt immensely better afterwards.

That is, until she started thrashing around and cursing furiously before realizing the water was shallow enough for her to stand. Face bright red, she spun around and glared at me. Her brown eyes were smoldering with hate, and I couldn't help but shudder, wondering what I had just initiated.

That's a stupid question, actually. I'd just declared war.

**Author Note: What did you think? I wanted to do it from Hitsugaya's perspective, I thought it would add some flav-a. Other chapters from his perspective will most likely be dotted throughout the story, if you like it that is. I also hope I did a good job making his writing style distinctively different from Karin's. Also, thank you for all the glorious reviews! They warmed me from my head to my toes! Ciao!**

**~Firefox**


	7. Food Fight!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**Author Note: So yeah, I'm back from the dead. I'll probably be updating my other fics soon as well, this was one was already half done, so I finished it first. Not that great a chapter, in my opinion, but it works. Anyway, read and review.**

* * *

Have you ever had liquid fire burn through your veins?

Well, I haven't either, but whenever I caught sight of Toshirou's smug face after the party debacle, I felt like I knew what it was like to have liquid fire burning through your bloodstream (minus the screaming in agony part. Obviously).

"Argh!" I said angrily (expressing my emotions aloud always gives me this contented, fuzzy feeling), giving the soccer ball in front of me a hard kick. It soared all the way from half-point, where the soccer team was meeting, into the goal.

"And what do you think you're doing, Kurosaki?" Came that familiar, aggravating voice, and I slowly turned to see Toshirou smirking at me. It just wasn't fair; the idiot had (somehow) been picked captain by Zaraki, and was now using his new powers to boss me around.

"Can you feel that, Kurosaki?" He had said with a smirk afterward, when Zaraki had made his choice; "That's the feeling of defeat."

"Can you feel that, you bastard?" I'd retorted, eyes flashing angrily; "That's the feeling of me choking you- from a distance. And then laughing giddily as I throw you off a cliff."

Anyway.

"Do the world a favor, and fuck off." I advised, and Toshirou narrowed his gorgeous blue-green eyes. Before he could prolong our confrontation, however, Zaraki let out a cry.

"HEY! GET OVER HERE! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT LOVEY-DOVEY CRAP!" Zaraki roared, and we both gagged while the team burst out laughing (except for Ichigo, who had a partly horrified, partly shocked look on his face. It would've been comical if I hadn't just gone into cardiac arrest) as they were all well aware of our hatred for one another.

After that embarrassing incident, soccer practice proceeded on as normal until Zaraki said we could work on slide tackles (this elicited giggles from several members of the summer team, and both Toshirou and myself flushed). He also said that I was proficient enough to practice something else with Ryu, who was also good enough at slide tackling to pass Zaraki's muster.

"You alright?" Ryu asked as we juggled to one another, or at least tried to, since I was still terrible at this aspect of the game. "You seem kind of out of it."

"Aye? Oh, yeah, I'm- ah shit..." I grumbled as the ball went bouncing off the side of my foot in another direction, and I trotted after it. Ryu laughed, and watched with a grin on his face as I brought the ball back.

"That's not funny." I said snippily, and Ryu grinned good naturedly.

"I'm so very sorry." He told me with a little half-bow, and I grinned back. It was always easy to talk with Ryu, much easier than anyone else (with the exception of Yuzu) at this school, even Ichigo, Rukia, or Matsumoto.

He had been furious when he found out that Toshirou had pushed me into the pool, and it took quite a bit of reasoning on Rukia and Chad's part to calm the boy down, much to my pleasure.

If I were honest, I wouldn't have minded seeing Ryu, a bigger, stronger boy, rip Toshirou to shreds. But alas, I didn't get my way, though I was content that Ryu had tried. Suddenly I noticed that the boy looked rather sheepish as he watched me make a pathetic attempt at juggling.

"Err... Hey, Karin, can I ask you something?" He said nervously, and I caught the ball in my arms, blinking at him.

"Sure, what is it?" I asked, and Ryu smiled hesitantly.

"Well... I was wondering if maybe... just maybe... you wanted to go to this coffee shop with me tomorrow." He said slowly and carefully, and I stared. Huh?

"L-like a, like a date?" I said, stuttering from my surprise. Ryu flushed and looked away, scuffing the ground with his toe.

"Of course not," He said quickly, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Just as friends, obviously." I gazed at him seconds longer before shrugging.

"Sure, I don't see why not." I told him with a smile, and Ryu grinned back enthusiastically in response.

"Great! I'll pick you up at 9:30 in the morning tomorrow. Sound good?" He asked, and I nodded, feeling suddenly more cheerful then ever before.

"YOU TWO, FOR THE LAST TIME, GET YOUR BUTTS IN GEAR!"

* * *

The next day I woke up feeling excited and slightly apprehensive. Today Ryu was taking me too the rather famous coffee shop, called Latitudes. I think that the name is rather odd, but hey, to each his own.

Even though Ryu had told me that it wasn't a date, I still got dressed in semi-nice clothes, for I wouldn't feel comfortable otherwise. Even then, I really wasn't confident, so I decided to call Nel.

I wasn't sure if this was the best idea, for she'd been very sad when she found out I was moving, but I desperately needed to talk to my old- to my best friend.

Ring, ring, ring.

"Hello?" I felt immediately relieved upon hearing Nel's voice, and almost wanted to cry. But I never cried, so that was most definitely out. I opted instead for over-excited teenager mode.

"Nel! It's me, how are you, how is everyone at the academy, how's Ulquiorra, has practice started yet, what about-"

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down there," Nel said with a laugh; "First of all, who is this? Karin?"

"Yeah," I said eagerly, relishing the news I was about to tell my friend. "And guess what? I have a date!"

"No way!" Nel shrieked, and then we started chattering animatedly about Ryu, soccer, and cursing Toshirou's names. Then I glanced at the alarm clock in my room.

"Shit!" I shouted, feeling the edges of panic hit me. "It's 9:25! I need to go!"

"Alright, call me afterwards and tell me how your date goes." Nel told me, and I smiled, feeling happy for the first time since coming to Karakura.

"I will. See you later." I said automatically, then felt a pang as I realized that I wouldn't be seeing her soon. Nel didn't notice, or didn't show it, and said a cheerful good-bye before hanging up (along with a threat to hang me by my toes if I forgot to call her back afterwards).

Running a comb quickly through my dark hair, I then raced down the stars two at a time before tackling my dad.

"K-Karin!" He said, and tears began to fill his eyes as we hugged. Then I punched him in the face, shoved on my tennis shoes by the door, and ran out the door. After my dad recovered, he frowned and touched his pocket.

"NOOOOO!"

"What's wrong?" Ichigo shouted, running in with his shirt off and pants unzipped.

"MY WALLET! IT MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED! AND- DELINGUENT SON, WHY ARE YOU PRACTICALLY NAKED?! ARGH!!!!"

* * *

"Your house sure is noisy." Ryu commented as I jumped in his car, and I grimaced at the sounds of shouting and furniture breaking coming from the insane asylum known as the Kurosaki residence.

"Tell me about it." I grumbled, and Ryu laughed before driving off towards the shop. Latitudes had a rather quaint feeling to it, with crème colored walls and a dark, comfortable interior.

Everything was patterned in shades of brown and tan, giving it homey sort of feeling, helped by the comfy lounge area and squishy chairs. We headed over to the bar and ordered some coffee, then opted to sit down in the lounge rather then at the tables.

We talked happily about soccer and schoolwork while sipping our coffee (it was really quite good) before a soft jingle filled the air, and I absently turned to see who was walking in the door.

My heart froze- it was Toshirou.

This is so cliché, I feel like someone is writing a freakin' book about Toshirou and me. I thought, disgusted, watching as the silver haired boy walked in with Matsumoto and a little boy who looked similar to Toshirou. And of course, Matsumoto being Matsumoto spotted me almost immediately.

"Karin-chan!" She squealed, bounding forward with abroad smile on her beautiful face as she pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. Toshirou, meanwhile, spun around and glared at me, while the little boy cowed behind Toshirou's clothing.

"Ah... can't... breathe..." I wheezed, and Matsumoto reluctantly pulled away to smile at me and then glance at Ryu with curious eyes.

"Are you two on a date or something?" She asked, and we both flushed.

"N-no, of course!" Ryu stammered, his cheeks turning red from embarrassment. "We just decided to...you know, hang out." He finished lamely, and Toshirou's eyes twitched.

"This is stupid. I changed my mind Matsumoto, let's go do something else." He said sullenly, and I glowered at the boy. Could he be any more direct? How rude. I stuck out my tongue, feeling childish, and Toshirou's eyes narrowed as he gave me the coldest glare he could muster.

This caused me to laugh; the guy looked like he was constipated. Toshirou flushed, spun around, and then strode off towards a bench as far away from Ryu and myself as possible. I grinned, triumphant, and Ryu looked at me curiously.

"You really don't like Toshirou, do you?" Ryu asked, and I glared at my coffee cup.

"I hate him," I said bitingly, and then paused, glancing at Ryu. "Why don't you like Toshirou?" Ryu hesitated, looking as though he was going to deny what I said, and then sighed.

"I dunno... I guess its cuz' I always feel inferior compared to him. Second best. You know what I mean?" He said in a rush, and I considered the boy a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I think I do." I said solemnly, and Ryu smiled at me.

"I don't want to!"

"Don't be silly; Taichou, Ryu and Karin are our friends!"

"No she's not!!" Both Ryu and myself turned and blinked in surprise at the sight of Matsumoto forcefully dragging Toshirou to where we were sitting, who was fighting her all the way. But I guess Matsumoto Power trumps Toshirou Power, because he was fighting a losing battle. The little boy walked nervously behind the two, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Hey there." I called, smirking, as Matsumoto pushed Toshirou onto a plush chair opposite from us. Toshirou glared at us, and I rolled my eyes, though inwardly I was chafing at the bit to kill the guy.

"And who might you be?" Ryu asked the little boy politely as he carefully climbed up onto Matsumoto's lap. He shot Ryu a surprised glance, and I found myself staring into eyes the exact same shade as Toshirou's.

Oh man, was this kid Toshirou's son...? That would be so gross.

"Takashita Dai." The little boy said in a whispery voice, and Matsumoto smiled broadly.

"He's Taicho's relation, but they're very poor, and Dai's parents abused him. Taicho found out about it and demanded to take the boy in. Dai also has problems speaking, so Taicho offered to pay for his-"

"Matsumoto!" Toshirou yelped, flushing slightly, while I stared at him in surprise. I'd never imagined Toshirou to be the type to help out poor, sickly kids, and yet here was, showing unexpected generosity. He caught me staring at him, and scowled.

"What are you staring at, stupid?" He asked aggressively, and I glowered back, feeling irritated.

"Not your ugly mug, that's for sure." I growled, and Toshirou looked pissed, which made me happy. Deciding to see how hard I could push his buttons before Toshirou exploded, I lightly knocked over my coffee so that it spilled all over the white shirt Toshirou was wearing (he looked really sexy in it, by the way. Not that I'd ever admit that to anyone). The boy let out a shout and leaped to his feet, looking furious.

"What the heck was that for?!" He shouted angrily, and I smirked.

"It was an accident." I said as obnoxiously as I possibly could, and Toshirou turned several different shades of red (I'm pretty sure some of them haven't been invented yet).

"You want an accident; I'll give you an accident!" Toshirou said furiously before flinging the jelly filled croissant he'd ordered at me. It hit my face with a sickening splat and, smiling serenely, I wiped off the jelly sliding down my face.

"Oh my." Matsumoto murmured, while Dai had a horrified look on his face. Ryu looked torn between outrage and amusement.

Then I threw myself at Toshirou, knocking him to the ground.

"Freakin' bastard." I snarled, punching him in the face as best as I could. Toshirou rolled over and pinned me with ease, a disdainful look in his eye. I was surprised by his strength, for such a thin boy, he had a grip like iron, and didn't budge an inch as I struggled furiously. The American who owned the restaurant rushed out, speaking in broken Japanese as the place erupted into chaos.

"Out! Out! Out!!!" He screamed, and Toshirou's face disappeared from my line of vision as he leapt off me and hurried Matsumoto and Dai out of the restaurant. Ryu and I were a bit slower, earning the threat of clouting as we escaped.

I felt bad for ruining our 'date' as Ryu drove me home, brooding and silent. Finally I dared to speak.

"Hey, uh, sorry." I managed to choke out. I really hate saying sorry, it tarnishes my pride, but I felt bad about the whole food debacle. Ryu looked astonished.

"For what?!" He said, and I blinked in surprise. Not exactly what I expected to hear.

"For ruining our... you know, outing." I said awkwardly, and Ryu gave me a broad grin.

"Are you serious?! I had to stop myself from laughing at the sight of you guy's face when you nailed each other with," Ryu said with a laugh, before scowling. "The only thing that bugs me is the way Toshirou practically assaulted you at the end."

"Err, well technically, I did start it," I admitted, and then blinked. Wait a minute, was I actually defending Toshirou? Ryu looked startled as well, so I quickly clarified.

"That doesn't make him any less of an asshole." I explained, and we both laughed heartily. We spent the rest of the day cruising around town and talking, and then Ryu dropped me off at home.

"See ya at school Karin!" Ryu called, and I waved as a way of replying. Then I trotted inside, carelessly tossed my father's wallet on the dresser (I had planned to use to pay for latitudes before getting... sidetracked) and headed up to my room.

Sighing from the busy day, I lay down and closed my eyes, eager for some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, it was not to be. There was a the sound of thumping several moments later, followed by a door slam and a shout;

"DELINQUET SON!! I FOUND MY WALLET! IT HAS MYSTERIOUSLY REAP- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The voice without a doubt my father, who didn't have the frame of mind to be quiet at this hour (then again, I'm not sure if he has a frame of mind, period). The announcement was followed by a lot of screaming, yelling, and breaking furniture, which meant my father most likely walked in on Ichigo and Rukia having sex. Ick.

"Oh god." I moaned, burrowing my head in my pillow. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Author Note: Again, not oneof my favorites, but I couldn't help but lol at the ending. I hope laughing at what you wrote isn't considered wierd... Anyway, I want to try and come up with ten chapters filled with pranks and other crap be fore I move onto the next arc, which should be a good deal more romantic. So if you have any ideas, feel free to post them, and I might use them!**

**- Firefox**


	8. Aliens

**Disclaimer: i don't own Bleach.**

**Author Note: First off, WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS INCREDIBLY CRAZY. I have no idea why I wrote it, it just came to me so I did it. It's more comic relief then anything else, though Toshirou get's to meet the Hollows. Thank you PANDABELZ for giving me the basis of this idea, though it's probably nothing like you imgined. Thank you to all you other reviewers out there, I wrote this in under an hour ^^ Which means it's probably riddled with mistakes... oh well.**

* * *

**I Hate EveryThing About You (Why Do I Love You)**

**Chapter 8: Aliens**

Ring.... Ring.... Ring.....

"Alright already! Shut the fuck up!" I yelled, jerking out of bed and grabbing the phone. My father had installed it a few days ago, since he adamantly refused to get me a cell phone.

"YOU FORGOT TO CALL ME BACK KARIN, DAMMIT!" The voice on the other end of the phone was unmistakably Nel's, and so loud I was sent flying out of my bed.

"Ow..." I groaned- I'd bumped my head. Nel was obviously in one of those weird rages she sometimes got, and continued yelling despite the fact I had been bodily separated from the telephone. That didn't mean I could here her though.

"YOU LITTLE FUCKER! WHEN I GET OVER THERE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! KKKKKIIIILLLLLLL YOOOOOUUUU! AS IN DEAD, LIKE A DOOR NAIL! ARGH! 11111111111111 SLDKHFSOEFNSIUEFHESIUFHIUESGFSEIUOFGOSE!" Nel yelled, and I rolled my eyes.

_That girl needs to take some pills. _I thought to myself, walking over, picking up the phone, and hanging up. Nel's screaming was abruptly cut off, and I smirked.

_Easy peasy lemon squeezy. _I thought to myself, and then frowned. _Why the hell did I just think that? Something must be wrong with me._ At that moment, of course, my father walked in with that nutty look in his eye.

"MY DARLING KARIN! DID SOMEONE TRY TO ATTACK YOU?! I WILL SAVE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUU!"

Needless to say, I had a very... interesting... morning.

* * *

"Hey Karin!" A voice called to me, and I turned to see Rukia and Matsumoto.

"What's up?" I asked, tired from the days exertions (i.e. beating my father up into a pulp. What fun). Matsumoto took the lead, grinning excitedly.

"Guess what! There's a bunch of people from your old team on the soccer field! One of them is acting like a maniac and hitting everyone who comes near her, screaming for you! Isn't that cool?!" Matsumoto cried, oblivious to the fact I'd just turned white as a sheet.

_Are you... fucking... serious?!!!! _I thought to myself, sprinting to the nearest window. Sure enough, Nel was sprinting around hitting people with a big white stick weapon thingy (where the hell did she get that thing?!) and holding up a giant sign that said I'M GOING TO KILL YOU KARIN! THEN HANG YOU BY YOUR TOES! 1X1X1X1X1X1X1X1X1X1! KSUGFUWEIBFIUEGFISEUGISUGRESUV

"Oh shit." I muttered under my breath.

"Why in the world is the girl from the summer soccer game hitting people with a lance?" A gut wrenchingly familiar voice called, and I turned to see a confused Toshirou staring out the window. I scowled and looked away. Bastard.

"Um, I told here I'd call here back, and then I forgot. I guess it was really important to her. She yelled at me this morning, but she was still in Kyoto then." I admitted bashfully, and Toshirou's glorious blue eyes widened.

"You have the most psychotic friends I've ever seen. And how did they get here from Kyoto so fast?" Toshirou said contemptibly, and I glowered.

"They're not psychotic! Nel just has... uh... get-angry-really-easy-over-little-things-phobia. And I don't know." I snapped angrily, and Toshirou stared at me a moment before turning away.

"You're an idiot." He muttered under his breath, and I stiffened. Grabbing a book, I hurled it at Toshirou. It missed, and hit a boy named Tojo instead.

"Wah..." The boy said, then stiffened and said in a creepy voice. "**Aliens.**" With that out of the way, he promptly collapsed. Weird...

"You!" Toshirou shouted, spinning around angrily. I smirked, enjoying myself.

"You what?" I challenged, and before Toshirou could reply, someone called out.

"Look! The principle came out to stop the girl with a stick-"

"It's a lance." Toshirou muttered, and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh shut up." I snapped.

"-and now she's beating him up! It's totally awesome!" The guy yelled, and everyone crowded around the windows, including Toshirou and myself. Indeed, the Principle had come up, and now Nel was whacking him. Ulquiorra was attempting to pull her off him, and sadly failing. I frowned, I couldn't just let Nel wreck mayhem. I had to stop her.

_I'm going to die. Sorry everyone. _I thought to myself, turning away and exiting the room.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?! Class is going to start!" Toshirou called, and I gritted my teeth. Why did the little bastard always have to get in the way?

"Brilliant observation Einstein! But I need to stop Nel! I started this conflict, and now I'm going to finish it!" I said heroically, and Toshirou rolled his eyes.

"You sounded like an idiot when you said that. Then again," Toshirou smirked that stupid, beautiful smirk of his. "You always sound like an idiot, so that's no great achievement."

I looked around, saw that the hallway was empty, and considered throttling the boy. I didn't though, and glowered at him instead.

"Shuddup. I'm leaving." I growled, turning and sprinting off. To my surprise, Toshirou followed, but I just ignored him. I quickly found myself on the school grounds, where Nel was wreaking havoc. Having waved the red (uh, white. No- purple!) flag, the Principle stood off to the side, nursing his numerous injuries.

"Be careful! That girls a maniac!" He called after us, and I ignored him.

_IamgoingtodieIamgoingtodieIamgoingtodieIamgoingtodieIamgoingtodie. _I thought to myself, ignoring the Principles warning. Toshirou obviously agreed with me.

"This is suicide." The white haired boy muttered, but I ignored him.

"Nel! Nel, calm down! It's me Karin!" I yelled, and the green haired girl glanced at me. Her eyes lit up and she sprinted towards me, dropping the sign and hefting her stick thingy (it's a lance. Stupid Toshirou).

_IamgoingtodieIamgoingtodieIamgoingtodieIamgoingtodieIamgoingtodie. _

"Nel! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to forget! It was an accident I swear! Nothing even really happened! I just got threw some stuff at Toshirou! Don't hang me by my toes PLEASEEEE!" I bawled. Alright, I'll admit it. I lost it. But you would to if you saw murderous girl running at you with a lance intent on bludgeoning you and then hanging you by your toes.

"Are you serious?! You threw stuff at that hot guy who you hate?!" Nel said demanded, so surprised that she stopped her charge. Stunned at the sudden change in temper (and having serious thoughts about Nel being bipolar) I nodded dully while Toshirou fidgeted slightly. Nel burst out laughing, clutching her sides.

"That's freaking hilarious! I didn't know you had it in you!" Nel cried, rolling on the ground. I exchanged a glance with Ulquiorra, saying quite plainly- wtf?! The boy shrugged nonplussed as well.

"Uh... so are you not going to hurt me?" I asked timidly, and Nel gave me a surprised look.

"Hurt you? Why would I do that?" She asked, and everyone face faulted.

"Oh no reason." I muttered under my breath. Nel noticed Toshirou for the first time.

"Hey, you're that guy! Hello! I'm Nel, and these are my friends- wait a minute, I thought you hated him Karin." Nel said in confusion as Toshirou shifted uncomfortably.

"I do!" I declared. "Forever and ever and ever." Nel blinked, then shrugged.

"Oh. Hey guys, come meet the guy who got his butt checked out by Karin!" Nel yelled, and we both blushed. Everyone, and I mean the whole team, jogged over and crowded around Toshirou, asking him questions (are you single, are you on the school team, are straight, ect, ect).

"Uh, yeah, yes, and yeah- wait, why?" Toshirou asked in confusion, and Grimmjow grinned.

"Cause I'm not." He said with a laugh, and Toshirou slowly backed away from him.

"I'm so outta here." He muttered, and then blinked. "Wait a minute, how did you guys get from Kyoto to here so fast?" Everyone exchanged glances, confused.

"To tell the truth, I can't remember," Ulquiorra admitted. "I just remember Nel was in really, really mad, then there was this flash of light, then-"

"**Aliens.**" Yammy said unexpectedly in the same tone as that Tojo guy from before, and everyone stared at him. What the hell?

"Uh... anyway. I'm going to be late for class. See you guys later," Toshirou said, turning away. "Hopefully not." He muttered under his breath.

"Bye Toshirou!" Grimmjow called, and the white haired boy grimaced. I glanced at my watch. Shit. Toshirou was right; we were going to be late.

"Late Nel!" I yelled, running off back to school.

"Bye!" Nel cried, trying to figure out why she had a funny looking stick in her hand.

Needless to say, we thankfully didn't get in trouble for missing class. In fact, Toshirou and myself were considered heroes for 'saving' the school. There was even an assembly. Unfortunately, my dad came, and everyone watched Ichigo beat him up. It was weird.

But not as weird as what I saw when I turned to look at my Kyoto friends one last time. There was a blinding flash of light, and I covered my eyes. When I removed them, all I could see was a disc shaped ship, flying off in the direction of Kyoto.

"What the heck was that?!" Toshirou demanded, still covering my eyes.

"**Aliens.**" I replied.

There is something seriously wrong with this story.

* * *

**Author Note: Which means there is something wrong with me. Anyway, read, review, and enjoy! If I get over 70 reviews, I promise to update the chapter after this one in less then a week (oh boy...)**

**-Firefox**


	9. Movie Madness

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach bayba.**

**Author Note: I'm so freaking pissed. I actually had this finished last Friday, but couldn't upload because I had to go to bed. Then, for the next few days, I couldn't log in because there was a fucking GLITCH in the server. Damn ffnet people... did this happen to anyone else? Because I went on both my computers, my mom's labtop, and my PSP, and I STILL couldn't log on to upload. Ugh...**** Anyway, now that that's out of the way, after this chapter is the beginning of a new arc! Yay! No more random hatred on both sides! Oh, and sorry to those of you who don't really dig random insanity like that last chapter, not sure exactly what came over me. Anyway, 83 reviews, wow. Waaaay more then I was expecting. The next chapter should be updated soon, like I promised.**

* * *

**I Hate Everything About You (Why Do I Love You?)**

**Chapter 8: Movie Madness**

"You should've been there Karin! You would've had some much fun!" Rukia cried, and I rolled my eyes. Did she have to keep bringing the party up?! A few days ago, Ryu had thrown a huge party, and invited a bunch of people, myself included. I'd wanted to go, but Ichigo found out there was alcohol, told my dad, and the two joined forces to make sure I didn't leave the house that night (I know, shocker. I almost died too).

On the bright side, I was still recovering from the whole Nel-Team Hollow-Aliens episode, so the extra rest might've been a good thing.

"Do you _have _to keep reminding me about that?!" I demanded irritably, for the negatives still out weighed the positives by... a lot.

We were at soccer practice, practicing squaring up and one touch drills. It's really easy, in my opinion, but Zaraki insists we do it (only several more months until soccer season actually starts!)

"I know, I'm sorry, but I can't help myself!" Rukia said, passing me the ball. I passed to Chad, and the two of us jogged back into line. "Ryu kept asking for you, it was so cute!" She said, and I blinked, skeptical.

Rukia saw romance between Renji and the teddy bear he slept with every night. Don't ask. Just don't. So, naturally, I found it difficult to believe what Rukia was saying. Not only that, but I thought of Ryu more as friend then anything else. Sure we went on a date, but it wasn't like we _did _anything.

"Yeah, sure." I told her, and Rukia frowned.

"You don't believe me, do you?" The sable haired girl complained, and I shrugged.

"Never for a minute." I said honestly, and Rukia stuck her tongue out me. I rolled my eyes- how childish.

"He said he wanted to get you something for Christmas!" Rukia said hotly, and I blinked.

"...Does he realize Christmas passed already?" I asked, and Rukia blinked.

"Uh, you can never be too early!" Rukia said hastily, and I snorted. I wasn't buying it for a minute. Rukia sighed and then gave up, dropping the subject.

"Hey, I'm having lunch with Ichigo at four today. Wanna come?" Rukia asked, and I felt surprised.

"Won't Ichi-nee be mad?" I asked, and Rukia shrugged.

"Probably, but we can consider it pay back for not letting you go to the party." Rukia said with a devilish smile, which I returned. I was liking Rukia more and more as I got to know her.

"See you then." I said, and Rukia nodded.

"Yup." She said, neither of us paying attention to a certain pale haired boy.

* * *

"Dad, I'm going out!" I called, walking out the door with a sullen Ichigo and cheerful Rukia in tow.

...

"WHAT?! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!!!! NOT TO A PARTY I HOPE! DELINQUET SON, PROTECT HER WITH YOUR LIIIIIIIFE." My idiot father screamed, bounding down the hall and throwing himself at us. Barely even making any facial expression, Ichigo, Rukia, and myself all kicked my father in the groin. He crumpled over, wheezing and hunched over in the fetal position, unable to move or speak.

"Thank god." I muttered to myself as we walked out, completely ignoring our incapitated father. Yuzu would take care of him. We walked over to the familiar, nearby shop, run by some weirdo named Urahara Kisuke. According to Ichigo, he made fucking good sandwiches.

Ichigo walked up to the front and barged in, blatantly ignoring the quiet girl sweeping the patio of the shop. Rukia and I walked in to see... a red head boy hitting stuff with a broom stick?

"Yah! Hah! Kerchah!" He yelled obnoxiously, making a fool of himself. Attempting to spin around and chop at the air, the boy missed and smacked Ichigo in the face. This cause him to loose balance, and the two went crashing into rows of merchandise.

Rukia and I stared at the mayhem as spluttering and swearing Ichigo grabbed the red haired boy by the scruff the neck.

"Jinta, you little fucker!" Ichigo yelled, and the boy clutched at his throat, turning as red as his hair. I recognized him as a kid in my grade, though I didn't know him personally. A soft chuckle filled the room.

"My, my Ichigo, whatever happened to manners?" Came a voice, and I turned around to see- the dandy from the summer soccer team. I probably could've said a lot of things, but what popped out of my mouth probably wasn't the best choice.

"Are you gay?" I asked, and Rukia choked in surprise, while Ichigo dropped Jinta. But gimme a break, the guy was holding a freaking fan. And he didn't help his case by laughing the stupidest laugh I've ever heard in my life.

"Oh ho ho, of course not. I can assure you, I am one hundred percent straight." He said, fluttering that stupid fan in front of his face. I rolled my eyes, not entirely convinced, before shrugging.

"Whatever. I'll take a special." I decided, while Ichigo and Rukia placed their orders as well, and Urahara smiled cheerfully.

"Coming right up! Jinta, what are you doing on the floor? You and Ururu have work to do, especially with Tessai on vacation." He said sternly, and the red head groaned.

"C'mon Uryuu, we have work to do." The boy said sullenly, and the girl who had been sweeping the patio appeared as if drawn by a magnet. It was creepy, especially since she had this really expressionless face. The two marched off somewhere, while Urahara started humming under his breath something that sounded suspiciously like Barney's Theme Song. I gave Ichigo an incredulous look.

"Please tell me you're not serious." I said, and Ichigo just shrugged.

"He makes a hell of a good sandwich." Ichigo said, and I rolled my eyes.

"He's not making _anything _at the moment." I objected, and Rukia snickered while Ichigo frowned.

"Good point." He admitted, and everyone sighed while Urahara facefaulted. Several minutes later Jinta gave us our food and we started to eat, happily munching away at the sandwiches.

"So, whas dof yoush gauys wanaf do todoyf?" Ichigo asked with his mouth full, accidentally spraying Urahara with bread crumbs and salami.

"Sorry." My orange haired brother said, while Urahara wiped the food off with a disgusted look on his face. Rukia rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's incompetence while I snickered, before Rukia replied.

"I was thinking we could go see a movie. You know, that brand new one featuring Chappy the Rabbit?" Rukia said, getting stars in her eyes, while Ichigo and I exchanged glances.

"Umm... what about the new one with that guy who goes around chopping people up and serving them in meat pies? I heard it's really good." Ichigo suggested, and I smirked. That sounded more like my style.

"I don't know." Rukia said with a frown; "It sounds like a macho movie. I'm not really into macho movies. I prefer ones with romance or Chappy in it." My brother and I sweatdropped, then Ichigo sighed.

"Uh... I think there's a little singing in it." He admitted, and Rukia squealed.

"Really? I love musicals! Let's do it!" Rukia said happily. We both sweatdropped, but nodded anyway.

"Uh... yeah. Something like that. I'll invite a bunch of the guy's." Ichigo said as we got up and left. Rukia blinked, surprised.

"Why would you do that?" She complained, and Ichigo shrugged.

"Why not?" He asked, already pulling out his cell phone, and I smirked. Sometimes my brother could be so dense.

"...Never mind." Rukia said with a sigh.

* * *

"It's cold out." Ryu observed as the two of us waited outside with several others from the team, murmuring quietly to one another. I nodded; of course it was cold out, it's the middle of January for god damn sake.

"Hehe, careful, I heard some guys have had their balls freeze off in this weather." Ikakku said with a leer, and I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up Madarame." Ryu said, annoyed, and the bald headed boy laughed with his weirdo friend Yumichika. Then came that annoyingly familiar voice that I hated.

"Look what the cat dragged in," The voice drawled, and I gritted my teeth.

_Toshirou Fuking Hitsugaya is right behind me, isn't he? I shouldn't even be surprised anymore. _I thought to myself irritably before turning. Sure enough, there was white haired hottie in all his glory, glowering at me.

"What's she/he doing here?!" We demanded at the same time, then scowled at one another.

"Stop it!" We said. Then-

"Alright, that's it!" We both shouted, striding towards one another, only to be restrained by, in my case, Ichigo, and in Toshirou's case, Chad.

"Ah, be nice you two." Came the voice of Matsumoto as she flounced over, smiling broadly. Before the fighting could get violent, Renji called over to us.

"Oi, what are you meat heads doing? Let's get a move on!" He called, and Toshirou and I exchanged deathly glares.

"Little bastard." I muttered as we walked into the theatre.

"Stupid wench." He responded, and I prepared myself to punch his smug face in. Before I could, however, Rukia grabbed me and steered me away.

"Calm down wildcat." She muttered, and I gave a disappointed sigh. Damn, and here I was hoping I could send him flying off to Timbuktu.

"Hey, Rukia, when we get inside, I'll sit on one side of you, and Ryu can sit on the other side, alright?" Rukia muttered, and I blinked. Huh? "Then if we're lucky, you and Ryu will hook up during the movie!" Rukia squealed happily, and I frowned.

"I only think of Ryu as a good friend, Rukia-neechan." I said sincerely, and Rukia shrugged.

"Well, you never know. And it's obvious that Ryu thinks of you as more then a friend." Rukia teased, and I blinked, confused. Though I'd jokingly referred to the time at the coffee shop as a date, I really only considered it time to hang out with Ryu. The thought that Ryu might like me made feel confused, though I pushed it aside.

"Uh, sure." I replied weakly, unsure how to respond. "Whatever." We got into the movie, and I took a seat next Rukia and Ryu, Ichigo next to Rukia. As the previews started, I watched it with bored eyes. The previews were usually my favorite, but all of the movies looked incredibly stupid.

Then the actual movie started.

It was gruesome, with lots of blood and death and a little bit of singing from insane people. I liked it (hm, I wonder if this means anything. No matter). All the same, it quickly grew boring, though Rukia kept distracting me by letting out little squeaks and burrowing into Ichigo's arm.

"Touch me and you're dead." I told Ryu casually, who shrugged.

"Whatever you say." He said, and I could've sworn I saw him smirking. Choosing to ignore him, I looked down and saw Toshirou's messy white hair, glowing softly in the dark. I noticed that the back sort of flattened out, and could make a good... platform.

Grabbing some popcorn as the inkling of an idea came to me; I lightly tossed one at the boy. It hit his head and bounced off, but Toshirou didn't seem to notice. Grinning, I grabbed some more and made another toss, but this one was too low, and whizzed past his head. Surprised, Toshirou turned around.

"What the heck are you doing?!" The boy demanded, annoyed, and I smirked.

"Oops?" I said, eyes wide in mock innocence.

"Did you throw that at me?" He demanded, and I frowned.

"I don't know, did I?" I asked, trying to be as obnoxious as possible. And succeeding.

"Leave me alone you little freak." Toshirou said angrily, and several people attempted to shush us, Rukia and Ichigo included. I really hated it when people did that, and apparently so did Toshirou.

"No freaking way am I going to shush!" We both said, minus the freaking on Toshirou's part. Pompous bastard.

"Calm done." Ryu whispered, attempting to pacify me while doubled over in his seat, trying to contain his laughter.

"Hell no!" I said, still glowering angrily at Toshirou.

"Be quiet!" Came another person.

"Karin! Toshirou! Please stop." Ichigo commanded.

"Yeah, if you don't shut up I'll have you kicked out," Some random idiot called out. "I swear, one more word and I'll-"

"The movie sucks anyway." Toshirou interrupted darkly, and the voice continued on.

"One more word and I'll have an usher kick you out!" The voice finished with a note of triumph in his voice. Ironically enough, he'd become as loud as we had in his 'righteous' indignation. Cocky braggart.

"Come on you two, please..." Matsumoto pleaded, which shut us both up.

"Fine. Just leave me alone you crazy women." Toshirou muttered. "Crazy wench." He added under his breath, which I heard. Standing up, I grabbed the ice cold soda Ichigo had brought me and dumped it all over Toshirou's head.

"AAARGGGHHH!"

* * *

"I can't believe you two got us kicked out of the movie! Now we'll never know what'll happen!" Ichigo said angrily, and the two of us stared angrily at the ground.

"Are you alright Taicho?" Matsumoto asked, looking as though she was trying to stop herself from rolling on the floor with laughter for the livid Ichigo's sake.

"Do I look fine? This maniac just dumped soda on my head!!" Toshirou yelled angrily, and I shrugged.

"You're an asshole, you deserve it." I said, and Toshirou glowered but did nothing.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ichigo yelled angrily. We both paused and looked up at the furious boy, whose face was now as bright as his hair. And that's saying something.

"Toshirou, just... go home. And you, Karin, have got a lot of explaining to do to Yuzu as to why we're back early." Ichigo snapped, causing me to stare at him in horror.

"You're kidding me right?" I asked, and he grimly shook his head. If he told Yuzu, she might start yelling at me, or worse... she'd start crying. Oh shit.

"Let's go Rukia." He muttered, and I vaguely caught a few of the final words Rukia was saying to Matsumoto before going.

"... need to get them to learn to work together- oh, time to go?" Rukia said, looking flustered at the sight of Ichigo and I waiting for her. Matsumoto seemed unperturbed, however, and waved good bye to her friend.

"Don't worry Rukia-chan," She said, a chesire smirk on her face as she turned away. "I've already got a plan."

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**Oh, what could Matsumoto be planning? You'll have to keep reading to find out! Bwahahaha! Anyway, there's one story I read that got 100 reviews by their fifteenth chapter. I want to try to beat that, so my next goal is to hit one hundred reviews. If everyone reviews again for this chapter, we should make it! Whoever's the one hundreth reviewer get's a special prize from me! So R&R! Ciao!**

**-Firefox**


	10. Arc Two: The Play

**Arc 2**

**The Play**

The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance- Chapter 10 of Pride and Prejudice


	11. The Vote

**Disclaimer: I don't owb Bleach.**

**Author Note: Woot! I updated on time! YAY! You're all lucky, because I considered updating my arc thingy last wake just to be irritating. But then I decided that would be cruel and unusual punishment. Thank you everyone for reviewing! It makes me so happy I feel like exploding! So keep doing it!! Oh, and any constructed criticism is welcome. Oh yeah, and I changed the tittle, because it's just way too long.**

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"Welcome to class everyone!" My English teacher told us, a pleasant smile on his face. I've always thought Shunsui a little weird, especially since he had the habit of wearing a pink yamaka. He isn't too bad, though, and he's a fun English teacher.

"Morning Shunsui-sensei." We chorused back as we sat down. He smiled cheerfully, and brought out the book we'd been reading as a class with a flourish. It was the well known book by Jane Austin, tittled Pride and Prejudice, which we had recently finished. It wasn't bad in my opinion, although I felt that Darcy was a bit of prick, and didn't deserve forgiveness.

"Guess what happens now that we finished? The whole junior grade, even those in honors English, will be performing the play Pride and Prejudice for the school!" He said happily, and everyone except the people of the drama club groaned, including myself. I was terrified of crowds, and to participate in front of the whole school (over 1400 kids!!) would most likely lead to my death. I'll just sign up for stage crew or something…

"And the best part is that the whole school gets to vote for who they think should take the main parts!" Shunsui cried, and I winced.

Dammit, what with my luck, some idiot was going to vote me in for a part as an actor. And I still had this strange suspicion that some idio fanfic writer was trying something with me and Toshirou. I'm probably just paranoid. But then again...

"Ooh, a play! Doesn't that sound exciting Karin-san?!" Matsumoto squealed, and I rolled my hazel colored orbs.

"Nope." I said flatly, though it was the tuth. Matsumoto's face fell, but then her pale eyes regained a mishcevious glint that I immediately feared (she always gets that look before putting someone in her death hug).

"You should try out for a part!" She said happily, and I facefaulted.

"No way in hell." I countered, and Matsumoto frowned.

"But why nooooot?" She asked, and I made a face.

"I hate crowds." I admitted, feeling my face flush a little. Matsumoto brightened.

"They say the best was to destroy a fear is to face it." She said, and I stared. Did Matsumoto just say something wise and smart sounding?

_She probably got it off Cosmo or something_, I thought to myself with a sigh. Matsumoto frowned, looking unhappy.

"Hey, don't you like my advice? The almighty Cosmo said it was good advice!!!" She complained loudly, and I snorted. Typical. At this point, Shunsui noticed our conversation, and bounded over, smiling cheerfully. He tipped his hat and winked at me, still smiling. Ew, shoot me now.

"And what might you two lovely ladies be talking about?" He asked with a big smile on his face, and Matsumoto turned to him.

"Karin-san won't rake the advice of the mighty Cosmo, Shunsui-sensei." Matsumoto complained, and Shunsui gasped.

"WHAT?! KARIN-SAMA, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THIS UNTIL YOU READ THE MIGHTY COSMO! DEEETEEENTIIIION!"

* * *

Well, this sucks. I'm sitting in Shunsui's room, being forced to read Cosmo. God, do me a favor and strike me with a lightning bolt. Now.

* * *

"Hey Karin, where were- are you all right?" Rukia asked, concerned, as I stomped angrily into the lunch room. I glowered at Matsumoto, who was gazing at the recently set up ballet for the Pride and Prejudice play, which had zilch voters. Unsurprising, to say the least.

"I'm going to kill her." I grumbled, storming past Rukia and sitting down. My brother noticed me and smiled.

"Hey Karin, how's it going?" He asked, brown eyes glinting, and I sat down with a heavy thump.

"Don't wanna talk about it." I grunted, grabbing food off my brother's tray and gulping it down. No way in hell was I waiting in that monster line to get food. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at me before shrugging, looking faintly exasperated.

"Was it really bad?" Madarame asked, and I stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Let's just say... Shunsui's a fan of Cosmo." I said, and all the boy's at the table paled, except for Yumichika, who clapped.

"I absolutely adore that magazine!" He cried, resulting in incredulous stares by everyone. Toshirou rolled his eyes, looking annoyed.

"Why is it that no one is normal at this table?" He muttered, just as Matsumoto leaped to her feet. This had the unfortunate side affect of sending her lunch in all directions, and hitting Toshirou in the face.

"MATSUMOTO!" Toshirou yelled, wiping rice pudding off his face, while everyone at the table, myself included, burst into a round of hearty laughter. She ignored him and strode off to a nearby table where all the emos and goths sat at.

"I'll be back!" She called over her shoulder in a sing-song voice before sliding into an empty seat on the bench. To say the least, everyone at the table had a look of absolute shock as they stared at her. One boy actually dropped the senbon her was eating, staring at her with heavily pierced eyebrows (how _does _that work? It looks so incredibly painful...). Matsumoto leaned forward and began to talk to the group in a low voice, and the expressions of the males at the table changed from shock to lust to greed to excitement so fast it felt like I was watching the fast forward of a film.

Then, almost as one body, every male at the table got up and raced towards the polling area for the play, It was wierd, they were practically fighting each other for a chance to vote.

"Woah... what's she doing...?" I muttered, and Ichigo frowned.

"I, quite honestly, have no idea. And I don't think I really want to know, either." Ichigo admitted, and everyone at the table nodded their agreement except for Toshirou, who was watching with narrowed eyes.

"I'll be right back." He said abruptly, standing up and racing over to where Matsumoto was watching with the proceedings with a content expression, while the girls at her table seemed struck dumb. In retrospect, it was actually a rather comical sight. Toshirou sttempted to talk to her, but Matsumoto merely brushed him off before going to the next table where a bunch jocks were sitting, watching her with intrested eyes.

Toshirou stormed back, fuming and bright red, before sitting down at his seat and digging into his food. I considered asking him what Matsumoto had said, but then decided I didn't need to know_ that _badly. Meanwhile, the jocks had a similar reaction to the goth/emo kids, getting up and rushing over to the poll area.

"Wow... didn't know she had it in her." Rukia commented as Matsumoto used what I called the _Rangiku affect _to get all the boy's in the lunch room fighting for a chance to vote for the play (except for the ones at our table). This left an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, though I pushed it aside. I ignored it as best as I could, however, and continued to steal food off of Ichigo's lunch tray.

* * *

"Enjoying the new found pleasures of Cosmo, beautiful Karin?" Shunsui asked me as I walked into English class a week later. I grimaced, not needing reminding of the event. I was also sore and short tempered, because I'd had a difficult soccer practice the day before, followed by a nutty night at the Kurosaki residence. Which is pretty much normal, so I'm not sure why I'm even bothering to state this. Whatever.

"Uh... yeah..." I replied, and Shunsui smiled happily before tipping that stupid straw hat at me (I mean honestly- who wears that kind of shit anymore?!) Shunsui bounded over to the center of the room, still smiling idiotically.

"As you all should know, the results of the play have come in!" Shunsui said happily, and I crossed my fingers. Nothing important, please, nothing important. Let me be stage crew or something like that please. Taking off his hat, Shunsui gazed at us all with solemn eyes before speaking.

"For some odd reason, the only poll that got a serious amount of votes was for the main characters, Elizabeth and Darcy," I resisted the urge to snigger, noticing the fact that Matsumoto was smirking. No shit no one else voted, since only the drama students really cared about this stupid play.

"But all the same, we have gotten the results in and ready." Shunsui said, and I felt a thrill in my heart. The moment of truth…

Walking over to where a piece of cardboard hidden by a cloth hung up on the chalk board, Shunsui ripped it off and pointed.

"As you can see, the two in the middle are who will be playing Darcy and Elizabeth, all the other minor characters are around them." Shunsui said, and I immediately began to look at the fringes, where I would most likely be. After all, who in their right mind would vote for me?

Thank god, I was seriously worried for a moment… I thought to myself, slumping in my seat. However, several loud protests startled me out of my relief.

"WHAT?! HOW IS IT THAT KARIN GOT THE MAIN PART?!!" Someone shouted, and I whipped my head to face the board again so fast that I got whiplash. And there it was, directly in the center, my name underneath the name Elizabeth.

But that wasn't even the worst of it.

Oh. My. Fucking. God. Toshirou… is Darcy!!! I realized, utterly and completely horrified. And then it all clicked.

"MATSUMOTO!!"

* * *

**Author Note: Hahaha, Matsumoto's dead once Toshirou finds out. Anyway, time for anouncments. First of all, congrats to DD for being the 100TH REVIEWER!! You, if you want, you can come up with an OC for this arc. If you don't want to do that, then you get a cyber cookie instead. Yay for cyber cookies! Also, I know this arc is probably going to be cliche, but I don't care! I'm already in love with it, and have a bunch of events involving one my favorite characters involoved! Let's see... that's all I can think of for now, though I'll update my notes if anything else occurs to me. Although I'm surprised people actually red these things... anyway, ciao!**

**-Firefox53022**


	12. Death is a Fact of Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Take plot, however, and I will hunt you down.**

**Author Note: As you can see, it's not a very long chapter, and I aplogize for that. It's also very, very angsty, with absolutely no humor. These might pop up every once in awhile. Finally, I'm not going to say whether this is from Karin's or Toshirou's point of view. That's up to you to decide. **

* * *

**Death is a Fact of Life**

It was a melancholy day. I like to think the very earth grieves over the loss of someone as beautiful and talented as _her. _Heavy fog covered the ground in a blanket, the temperature chilly. But I didn't mind, I'd always enjoyed cool weather more then hot weather. When it's hot you're sweaty and irritable, but when it's cold a person can think clearly. Or at least, that's what it's like for me.

I stared at the tombstone in front of me, flowers held in a slack grip. It was a dull grey color, a simple and yet powerful symbol known by all of society. It didn't seem to fit _her _personality however; it was too regular, to much a common fact of life. Death hurts, it hurts so badly, and yet a person doesn't know had badly it hurts until they experience it themselves. And yet hundreds of people die of it each day; starvation, old age, cancer, neglect, suicide...

Why? Why, why, why?

A hot, unfamiliar warmth slid down my cheek, and I raised my hand to trace the foreign object. Holding it up to see, I gazed at the bead of water with wide eyes, unable to speak, unable to feel except for the mind numbing cold that pervaded my brain.

It wasn't fair. What had _she _done to deserve death? _She _was too good, to pure, it just... it wasn't fair.

_Life's not fair. _A voice whispered pensively in my mind, and I whimpered as a sharp pain filled my chest. Pain at being separated. Emptiness at the fact that someone I cared for, someone I loved with all my heart was _gone. _Never to see _her _laugh or smile. I grimaced and clutched my stomach, trying to hold back my internal pain as it spilled over me like an overflowing cup.

Letting out a low moan, I fell to my knees as sobs racked my body. My flowers fell to the floor, momentarily forgotten, as I let out animal like howls.

"ARGGHHH!" I screamed leaping to my feet and racing to the nearby tree, filled with an uncontrollable fury. Lunging forward, I struck the tree with one of my fists. It hurt, by I ignored the pain and continued to strike it. When my fists were bloody and raw, I started kicking the tree as hard as could. But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

Grabbing some branches, I began to rip them off the tree before snapping it in half. I felt a maniac grin spread across my face, unaware of the blood dripping down my fists, or the terrible pain of a fracture in my right foot. Suddenly a hand grabbed me and spun me around.

"What do you think you're doing?" The deep baritone voice cried, and I recognized it as my father. He was the last person I wanted to see right then, in the midst of my grief.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed, tearing out of his grip and racing off, tears still streaming down my face, I'd been crying the whole time. I ran and ran and ran and ran until my legs couldn't take it anymore, and I collapsed. For a long time I stayed stock still, unable to muster up the energy to move.

_I'm tired. _I noted almost absently to myself, curling up into a ball and wiping my bloody hands across my face. It made me look like I'd gotten shot or something, but I could've cared less at the moment. A wave of lethargy hit me, and I closed my eyes before attempting to doze off, too tired to even raise my head.

But I found even this impossible, for despite my lethargy, my mind couldn't stop thinking about _her. _And as I thought about _her, _I came across a startling revelation. Death was apart of life. You lived, loved, and then you died. And the cycle repeated all over again. Nothing could or would stop the inevitable march of time. Death was simply a fact of life.

This comforted me, for no matter what, I'd eventually be reunited with _her. _

This thought gave me new energy, and I sat up. I attempted to clean up, but I was quite a mess. My weakness, the fact the fact that I had totally flipped out, embarrassed me. What had I been thinking? It was hard to remember, the time of my brief insane grief like a thick red cloud fog, obscured from view. Nonetheless, I resolved never to show weakness again. Never to cry in front of anyone, or even myself.

Never.

* * *

**Sorry if it's not your cup of tea, I've been meaning to post this chapter up for quite awhile, and I figured now worked just as well as later. Thank you to all who reviewed the previous chapters and don't worry, the next chapter will resume its usual light hearted humor and hatred. Not to mention the introduction of one of my favorite charaters! (I think I said that last chapter, but, whatever) Anyway, ciao!**

**-Firefox**


	13. Yoruichi Insanity

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. At all. Would be cool if I did, though...**

**Author Note: Ugh, this chapter was SO FREAKIN' HARD to write. I had it all planned out in my head, but actually writing it down totally killed me. Ugh... now I have a headache... anyway, this is from Toshirou's POV. Oh, and no more lemons. This story just doesn't work for that kind of thing. Keeping it M for safety reasons, though. Right... now excuse me while I go to sleep.**

**I Hate That I Love You**

**Chapter Something: The First Practice: Yoruichi Insanity**

* * *

_Stupid school... why does it have to be so pointless? _I thought dully to myself, absently doodling during world history, a subject I'd pretty much memorized. Yamamoto was talking about the cold war between the USA and Russia, and his voice just droned on and on and on... like an annoying flying buzzing by your ear.

"... And I suppose Hitsugaya-sama would like to grace us all with his mind's presence." Yamamoto said in a quiet, controlled voice, and I blinked lazily at him while several kids smirked.

"Yes?" I drawled insolently, and Yamamoto's eyes narrowed.

"Please enlighten us, Hitsugaya, on what the effect of the cold war was on Japan." Yamamoto asked coldly, and I stared at him blankly. Why would I care about something stupid like that?

"Who knows?" I said with a shrug, and the class erupted into laughter. Annoyed, I frowned and looked down at the advanced calculus I'd had to make up for missing the class, wishing everyone would stop talking. I wasn't even that funny.

"Hitsugaya-sama," Yamamoto said coldly, once he got the class under control. "Please take moment to think wisely about your course of actions, or you'll find yourself down at the office in three seconds flat." He told me, and I knew it to be true.

Of course, I wasn't worried, as the whole school staff (with the exception of Yamamoto) pretty much feared both me and my father. So even if he did send me down, I wouldn't get in trouble. All the same, I nodded and pretended to look like a good student, when in all honesty I couldn't have cared less.

"Yes sir." I said, and Yamamoto nodded approvingly. The rest of the class passed smoothly as I lapsed back into thought. So far, the whole day had been really strange. I hadn't been attacked by a mob of girls, and every one of my friends was keeping their distance from me. Not only that, but Kurosaki is acting like he wants to kill me for some reason, while Matsumoto's no where in sight. It's really weird.

_I must've missed something important yesterday. Maybe they found out what Matsumoto was up too? _I guessed, absently running a finger through my white hair. But I wouldn't have had it any other way, because I _had _to miss my last two classes. No exceptions. Just thinking about yesterday caused me to tense up, and I lightly drummed my fingers on my desk.

_Bedump, bedump, bedump-_

"Hitsugaya-sama, stop that." Yamamoto snapped irritably, just as the bell rang. Not bothering to look at him, I stood up and walked out the door with the rest of my class mates.

* * *

"Hey Toshirou." Startled, I looked up to see Karin. I blinked, my usually quick mind surprised.

"_Karin?_" I said, shocked, and the girl narrowed her hazel colored eyes, a sign I'd quickly learned meant she was mad.

"What do you mean, _Karin?_ Is there something wrong? Are you angry at the way things turned out?" She said bitterly, and I stared at her.

Huh?

"What?" I asked in confusion, and Karin gritted her teeth.

"You're such a jackass! I try to be nice to you, and this all I get!" She said angrily before turning and stomping off, muttering curses under her breath. I blinked, feeling a slow, fierce anger burn through me.

_I'll never understand that crazy women. _I thought to myself with an irritable sigh before finishing gathering up my books and heading back to class.

* * *

"Hey Toshirou man, I seriously think Ichigo wants to kill you." Madarame told me, and I stopped to stare at him.

"_What _did you say Madarame?" I asked, completely baffled, and Madarame shrugged.

"Ya know, over the play thing. If looks could kill, you'd be dead and freezing in hell by now. Oh, and call me Ikkaku." Madarame said before walking off, leaving me more confused then ever.

_Play thing? What play thing?_

* * *

"Dammit Toshirou!" Suddenly I found myself pinned against a locker, with a seriously peeved off Ichigo Kurosaki glaring at me with glittering brown eyes.

"I-" I started only, to be cut off by the raging man.

"You think I'll let you get away with seducing my sister?! Do you?! Why else would you have Matsumoto pull the strings? Oh, I knew you had a thing for her, but I never-"

"Wah-?" I started, only to be interrupted by Kurosaki. Honestly, the man is like a raging rhinoceros, thick skull and all.

"I swear, if you put one finger on her, I'll make sure you seriously regret it!" He yelled, and there were several scandalous gasps.

"Kurosaki! Put Hitsugaya down at once!" Came the stern voice of Yamamoto, and Kurosaki hesitated before dropping me and storming off. He bore an astonishing resemblance to Karin in the process.

"Are you alright?" Yamamoto asked in a kindly tone, and I nodded, absently massaging my neck.

"Yeah..." I said, trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

"All juniors please report to the auditorium. I repeat, all junior please report to the auditorium." Shunsui came on, his annoying sing-song voice causing me to scowl.

"I better go." I told Yamamoto, who smiled tightly.

"Good luck, you'll need it." He told me, and I twitched irritably.

_What the hell is going?! _I thought to myself, swearing for the first time in... a long time. I walked down the hall at a quick pace, contemplating, before sighing. I honestly didn't have a clue.

Little did I know, I would soon find out.

* * *

"Hey there, Hitsugaya-san! Ready for the play?" Shunsui said the instance I walked into the auditorium. I stared at him, not comprehending.

"What...?" I said slowly, noticing Karin and a bunch of other kids staring (or in Karin's case, glaring) at me. Before Shunsui could reply, however a rich, melodic and familiar voice echoed down from the stage.

"I actually have to _teach _this riff-raff? Well then, we're going to have a lot of work to do." The voice cried as a beautiful women strode onto the stage. She had long purple and piercing golden eyes, her bronze skin giving her an exotic look. I gaped at her, unable to move; it was my dancing teacher, Yoruichi Shihoin.

"Yor-Yoruichi-sama?!" I spluttered in shock, and the women looked up to gaze at me with wide, golden eyes.

"Toshirou? What are you doing here?!" Yoruichi exclaimed, and Shunsui grinned.

"Hitsugaya-sama is Darcy." He explained, and Yoruichi's eyes became wide as saucers. Then she beamed.

"Excellent!" She cried, leaping down, grabbing my arm, and spinning me around. Startled, I instinctively followed her lead, and Yoruichi pulled away and pirouetted elegantly.

"A dancer who actually knows what they're doing! Yes! I shouldn't have bothered to bring Urahara!" She exclaimed, and I gaped.

"WHAT?" I thundered, and said man took off his hat from the shadows of the stage and tipped it.

"Hey Toshirou." He said with a smirk. Shunsui beamed, looking absolutely delighted.

"Great, we can start! Oh, wait, I forgot... you were gone yesterday, weren't you Toshirou?" Shunsui asked, not even realizing he was now calling me by my first name. "The people who voted decided that you'd be Darcy, and Karin is Elizabeth." Shunsui said.

"WHAT?!" I screamed, and Yoruichi looked ecstatic.

"Oh, I love that book! Will there be any kissing?!" She asked excitedly.

"NO!!!" Karin yelled, at the same time I shouted,

"WHAT?!!" Urahara smirked and nudged one of the students, a rather sickly looking boy with wire frame glasses.

"Five dollars Toshirou's going to say 'what' again at least five times." He smirked, while Shunsui smiled at Yoruichi.

"Isn't it touching that the adolescence of today loves plays so much? Look at Toshirou, he's bright red with happiness." He said, and Yoruichi smiled back.

"Yes, I can see what you're saying. If only Toshirou had green hair, then he could pass off as a strawberry." She inferred wisely, and Shunsui looked bemused.

"WHAT?!!!" I screamed again. And then it hit me as all the pieces fell into place.

"MATSUMOTO!!!" I screamed. Then-

"Sir, you owe me five dollars."

* * *

**Author Note: Well, there you go. All the main characters for the play arc have been introduced. Ichigo goes into protective brother mode, and Toshirou receives the shock of a life time. Oh, and Yoruichi's introduced. Meh. If you don't find the chapter funny, tough. I worked my ass off to get this thing done. Thanks for the reviews. Bye.**

**-Firefox**


	14. Furret Fury

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

**Author Note: Hey... sorry for the long wait. I got everything from death threats it requests for lemons o_0 Anyway, once I actually sat down to write this chapter, I enjoyed myself immensely. It was fun and light hearted with a lot of craziness and insane ferrets. I don't know if anyone knows this, but insane ferrets are awesome. Also, I'm thinking of making a spin off about Toshirou and Yoruichi and their time spent in the dance studio. It would be a series of one-shots, of course, and won't be posted until after this arc at least. I just want to see what people think of it. Finally, the Hitsukarin will be slow, and nothing will actually happen for several arcs. Just to clue ya'll in.**

**Note: No one was harmed in the making of Karin's dream- you'll see what I mean.**

**I Hate the Fact That I Love You**

**Chapter Fourteen: Ferret Fury**

* * *

_It was grey as a funeral profession marched slowly up a hill where two holes had been dug. The smell of fresh, damp earth hung in the air, and several people followed from behind. One person could be seen carrying two tombstones;_

_Rangiku Matsumoto: Beautiful and Seductive, but crazy to cross Karin Kurosaki_

_Hitsugaya Toshirou: A pompous, idiotic bastard_

_Meanwhile, several miles away two girls were hanging out on a beach. The sun was shinning and one of them, Rukia Kuchiki to be exact, was lying on the sand sun bathing a bikini._

_The other, meanwhile, was in a plain white t-shirt and black short, juggling a ball perfectly with her feet. It was a little difficult in the sand, but the girl, what with her awesomeness, made it look incredibly easy and... well... awesome. Which naturally meant she was Karin Kurosaki, who is the reincarnate of awesomeness itself. The only things that made the two resemble each other were their jet black hair and identical awesome sunglasses._

"_I have to see, the method you contrived of Matsumoto and Hitsugaya death's was very... finite." Rukia said after a couple minutes, and Karin smirked._

"_I know. Pushing them off a cliff was pretty genius. Especially considering the fact that it killed two birds with one stone." She said, and Rukia frowned._

"_I can't help but wonder... how did you do it exactly?" Rukia asked, and Karin smirked before doing a rainbow; literally, a rainbow flowed over her head, following the soccer ball like a comet tail. At the same time she pulled down glasses to reveal dark hazel eyes and smirked._

_Sparkles and a pink background appeared around Karin, and if it wasn't for her sunglasses, Rukia would've been blinded by sheer awesomeness. As it was, a bird happening to look that way abruptly burst into flame, unable to take Karin's coolness._

"_Easy, I blinded them with sheer awesomeness!" Karin exclaimed, and Rukia applauded her. A crowd magically appeared out of no where and lifted her up in the air, as Karin's aura of awesomeness had faded away so that she could be looked at again without worrying about being blinded. _

"_Karin, Karin, Karin, Karin, Karin..." They chanted, and the girl pushed her sunglasses back up again and smirked, causing several boys to faint._

_Things were looking up._

* * *

"KARIN!" A voice bellowed, and I started out of my daydream to see Toshirou's glowering blue eyes. He was obviously irritated, while Yoruichi was watching us with a smirk on her face. "What are you doing? Yoruichi asked you to come with us for private practice." He spat venomously, and I glowered.

_I liked you better when you dead. _I thought mutinously to myself, attempting to ignore the jealous stares as girls directed their gaze at me. Did they HAVE to be so obnoxious over some stuck up bastard?

"Coming," I grumbled, exiting my 9th hour and following the seething, white haired boy as we headed over to the auditorium.

"Just so you know," Toshirou said, partly civil and partly annoyed. "I claim the right of killing Matsumoto when she gets the courage to come back to school." I frowned, annoyed.

"No way. She's mine, I called it." I said possessively, and Toshirou glowered.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Yes.

"No."

"Hah! You agreed with me!" Toshirou said triumphantly, and I wanted to slap myself. How the hell could I have fallen for such a trick?!

"Now fucking way! You tricked me into agreeing with you, it doesn't count!" I yelled angrily, and Toshirou smirked.

"Losing your cool doesn't help the situation much." He told me, and it was my turn to seethe. Damn bastard.

"Having fun you two?" A delicate voice called, and we both turned to see Yoruichi. She had a smirk on her exotic, beautiful features, and it made me uncomfortable. I didn't really know her, although she seemed a little coco for cooco puffs... if you know what I mean.

"What are doing here?" I demanded aggressively, and Yoruichi smirked.

"I'm here to teach you how to dance." She said, and I rolled my eyes. Damn bitch. I hated her already.

"No friggen duh. What I meant is why aren't you in the auditorium?" I growled, and Yoruichi frowned, seemingly unphased by my attitude. Toshirou, however, gave me a mutinous look.

"I was told by an inside source that I should accompany the two of you to make sure you didn't kill one another." She said in what she considered a mysterious voice, and I grumbled inwardly. This was stupidity in all its forms.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with." I muttered, and we walked in silence until we got to the ballroom. Once on stage, Yoruichi whirled around and gave us broad smiles.

"Right! So, Toshirou, what type of dance do you think we'll be dancing?" She asked, and the white haired boy replied sullenly.

"Most likely a waltz, probably international since the story takes place in Britain. It will definitely be ballroom dancing, however, that much I can say." He said, and Yoruichi nodded, pleased.

"Very good, you hit it spot on. We'll be doing the international version, and we'll be doing the beginner steps. I know you'd be fine with gold, Toshirou, but Karin will have enough difficulties as it is." Yoruichi explained, and Toshirou considered.

"So we'll be working on closed positions, turns, and whisks?" He asked, and Yoruichi clapped.

"Very good, you remembered! We'll be doing some Chasse from Promenade as well." She said, and I could feel my head spinning. I'd noticed that the two seemed to know one another but... this? What?

"Wait, what? I have no clue what you guys are talking about. Also, do you know each other something?!" I demanded, and Yoruichi looked surprised. Toshirou, meanwhile, had a panicked expression on his face.

"Yoruichi-sama! Don't say anything _please._" He practically begged, much to my astonishment. He might as well have been on his hands and knees at the moment. Yoruichi regarded him a moment before replying.

"You shouldn't be ashamed of your abilities. Toshirou is a national ballroom dancer, he's been dancing since he was five." She replied, and Toshirou groaned, smacking his head in his hands. I stared at the two, dumbfounded, but only for a moment.

Then I sank to my knees, as my shoulders shook while I made low howls. The two stared at me in consternation for a moment before realizing I was positively _howling _with laughter.

"Oh my god!" I shouted, laughing so hard my sides hurt. "Toshirou fucking Hitsugaya- a _dancer?! _What the hell is wrong with that picture?! Did you wear stupid little tutu to class or something?" I was laughing sp hard I could barely breathe, and Yoruichi frowned.

"Actually, a tutu is used for ballerinas. But I do have kind of a funny story..." She began, and Toshirou cut her off while I listened intently, excited to hear embarrassing stories about Toshirou.

"No! Yoruichi-sama, we need to get started!" He yelped, and Yoruichi looked surprised before nodding amiably.

"Of course. Toshirou, put your arms around Karin's waist." She said, cutting me off as I opened my mouth to disagree. Almost instantly we clamped up and turned red with anger at the thought of close proximity.

"WHAT?!"

...It was going to be a long day.

It was about an hour later, and my head was full of Yoruichi's talk about ¾ time and amount of steps and whatnot. Not to mention it was incredibly uncomfortable to dance and glare at person while stepping on their feet (both accidentally and purposely).

But now that torture was over, and the rest of the cast had filed into the room. We were currently taking a break from practice, and I was lounging around with Ryu, who had somehow dodged the 'draft' and had come to laugh at me.

"What. The Hell. Is That?" I asked icily, eyes wide as a small, brown, furry, and serpentine like mammal poked its head from Ryu's thatch of golden brown hair. The boy and question gave me an easy going grin, lightly scratching the things ear.

"This is Shu. He's my buddy. I got him for Christmas last year. Isn't he cool?" Ryu replied, and Shu turned his head to give me the evilest look I'd ever seen. I swear it gave me the finger, honestly it did.

"Uh..." I said, watching as Ryu cooed as Shu turned and nuzzled his face. Bipolar ferret on the loose... what fun. Suddenly Ryu's pocket vibrated, and the boy pulled out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he listened intently, his face turning blank.

"Uh-huh. Okay. Got it." He said, flipping the cell shut, a hard look in his eyes.

"I've gotta go, do me a favor and watch Shu for me, alright?" Ryu said to me, and before I could reply the bipolar little bastard of an animal was thrust into my hands, and Ryu was out the door, quick as lightning. As soon as he was gone I wrinkled my nose at the smell of the animal- I'd never liked critters, furry or otherwise.

The thought was accentuated as soon as Shu saw Ryu leave. And then, get this- he bit me. He fucking _bit _me.

"ARRRGGGGGHHHHHH!" I yelled, purposely drawing out the yell and making it as dramatic as possible. Everyone looked up, including Toshirou (Toshirou is a dancer... pfft... and what's this I hear about tutus?).

"SQUEAK!" The Ferret said (yes, he said squeak. No fucking clue why or how) which roughly translates to; 'fuck you bitch bwhahahaha'. After that explanative was shouted, Shu leaped down and raced off.

"After him! Catch that ferret!" I hollered, chasing the little devil. There was a lot of yells and screams as the whole room thought I was on fire or some stupid shit like that, before realizing what was happening and congregating towards the ferret.

"What's going on?!" Toshirou yelled, only to get run over by a mob of people attempting to catch the foul smelling Shu. It nimbly dodged all of them before skirting past Toshirou, who was on the floor. He lunged, nabbing the bastard, and I would've cheered if Toshirou wasn't my sworn nemesis.

"Aha! I got you- ARGH!" Toshirou yelled, letting go of Shu to suck his thumb. I frowned; I should've known he was incompetent. Dammit. The ferret continued on his way before leaping on the velvet curtain of the stage, scurrying up it with ease. Thoughtlessly, I ran after and took a jump into the air.

"FOR LIBERTY!" I yelled, why the hell I said that, I have no freaking clue. It just sounded right, okay? I rammed into the curtain full force and gave way with a ripping noise. The whole damn thing collapsed on to of me while my body went num from impact. Oh, _ow. _

"Hot damn." Someone muttered as I struggled to my feet.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" A voice shouted, and I wearily turned to see... Yamamoto. Oh... shit.

"Uh... is everyone okay?" Behind Yamamoto came none other then Ryu, cradling Shu in his arms as he stared at the pandemonium before him.

Oh... shit.

* * *

**So... what did ya'll think? There will actually be some major Hitsukarin next chapter, so be prepared! Also, if you have any comments on my idea for a series of one shots, please tell me. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, _I_ did I thought it was rather bland but... it works. Let's try to get 200 reviews folks! If we do there might be... le gasp... a quick update?**

**-Firefox**


	15. Promise

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**Author's Note: And I'm back. Kinda. I'd rather not go into details, it's extremely personal. Hopefully I'll be able to update sooner. Enjoy.**

**I Hate the Fact That I Love You**

**Promise**

* * *

"This sucks," I said grumpily, flopping on a chair. Yamamoto glared at me before heading into the principal's office. Moments later the principal trotted out of his room, looking weary.

"Kurosaki-san…" he sighed, rubbing his temples. I said nothing, simply glared at that floor. I'll reiterate; this sucks. And my finger hurts. "Why did you go completely psycho and destroy the auditorium?" What the fuck am I supposed to say to that? Oh, a bipolar ferret that I just met with a special hatred for me ran around and fucked everything up?

Yeah, that'd work out real well…

"It was… I was… momentarily blinded by nationalism," I finally said, unable to think of anything else. The principal stared at me.

"Err… excuse me?" he said after a moment, trying to figure out what I meant. I glared at him.

"I mean, seriously, what are we, pansy British people? I don't see anyone walking around drinking tea and crumpets with their pinky finger sticking out! I was pissed because we're doing a British classic in a Japanese society!" I exclaimed and the principal scowled. At the mention of pinky, my bitten finger pained me. If I ever get my hands on that ferret…

"We at Karakura High School pride ourselves on a well-rounded, international education," he explained patiently and I scowled.

"Yeah, well, who cares about the rest of the world? We're isolated on a tiny island filled to the brim with a bunch of smart people! I say, screw the world! Japan is its own country! We're like women! We take a stand!" I shouted just as Ryu and Toshirou barged in.

Wait a minute, what the fuck, _Toshirou_? Why can't this kid just leave me the hell alone? It's like… I don't even know how to describe the stupidity of his random and frequent appearances anymore…

"Sir! It wasn't Karin's fault! If you want to blame anyone, blame me! I brought my ferret, and he messed everything up! Toshirou here can back me up!" Ryu exclaimed loudly and dramatically, holding up Shu. The ferret just cocked its head and looked at us all sweetly. The furry bastard. Toshirou, being a frickin' prick, merely grunted, looking extremely uncomfortable and uneasy. And sexy.

Fucking asshole. Damn whatever god made such an annoying brat look so good. The principal looked at the three of us, obviously confused, as Yamamoto reappeared.

"Something wrong, Haruka-sama?" he asked the principal quietly, who shook his head. My finger throbbed.

"Ah, no. I'll deal with these kids; you're dismissed, Yamamoto-san," replied 'Haruka' with a sigh, pushing up his glasses. The old man nodded before leaving. The principal watched him walk out, and then looked at Toshirou. "Hitsugaya-sama, is what they're saying true?"

"Yeah," Toshirou said after a long moment of silence, glancing at a tense Ryu. I was tense too, but for different reasons. Why was Toshirou helping me? Was this some weird plot of his to exact revenge? Argh, damn the white haired boy and his stupid, unreadable ways! He's as complicated as a frickin' girl! The principal sighed. My stupid finger fucking hurt.

"So then, Kurosaki-san, was all that nationalist stuff made up to protect your friend?" he inquired and I blinked.

"Uh… yeah… and because I thought you wouldn't believe me," I said honestly, slightly taken aback.

"Well, you thought correctly," he said with a groan before looking at Ryu, "okay, here's what we'll do. Kochiku-san, you have detention for bringing a ferret to school, and you're suspended from the first soccer game of the year for causing the destruction of the auditorium. Karin, you get a warning for lying and questioning school policy. Hitsugaya-sama, you're not in trouble at all, considering you weren't involved." There was a moment of silence as this sunk in, and then my eyes widened. The pain of my finger receded in the wake of my righteous and just fury.

"What? That's not fair! Ryu didn't even do anything!" I yelled angrily and the principal shrugged.

"That's life," he replied simply. I scowled, opening my mouth, but Ryu touched my shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay," he said quietly. Then he glanced at the principal. "Mind if I call my parents? They'll want to know." He nodded before gesturing for Toshirou and me to leave. We did so, reluctantly in my case. I stomped down the hallway, absolutely fuming.

"This sucks," I raged aloud, "Ryu shouldn't get in trouble." Toshirou said nothing; his arms were crossed and his teal colored eyes were brooding. I looked at him, irritated. "Well, don't you think this sucks?" Toshirou shrugged.

"He shouldn't have brought his ferret. He got what was coming to him, especially considering it wrecked the auditorium," he said simply. I gaped.

"You're a fucking bastard, you know that?" I replied gratingly, belatedly remembering I hated the kid. Toshirou glared at me, eyes flashing.

"Oh, because you're _so _much better," he retorted irritably. He seemed lost in thought, which confused me, and didn't have his usual spirit when arguing. I quickly dismissed it.

"Yeah, whatever. If you think helping me is going to cause me to lower my guard, forget it," I snapped. Toshirou rounded on me.

"I didn't do it for _you_," he spat, "I did it because it was the right thing to do. You didn't deserve to get in trouble. Besides, Ryu asked me too." I was taken aback by the venom in his voice, and slightly hurt as well, although I had no idea why. The pain in my finger came back with a vengeance.

"Oh yeah, because you always do things people ask you to do," I replied after a moment, recovering. Toshirou stared at me flatly. I noticed he was cradling his own bitten finger, which gave me some satisfaction as mine was throbbing like crazy. Wait… that sounded bad.

"How the hell would you know? Do you even know anything about me?" he asked sharply and I stared at him, slightly unnerved. He was right. What _did _I know about him? Just that he was a fucking brat. I narrowed my eyes.

"The same could be said for you; what do you know about me?" I responded and Toshirou scowled.

"That's cheating," he accused me, and I smirked.

"Don't care," I replied snippily in a sing-song voice. At this point we'd stopped walking and were facing each other, scowling angrily. Toshirou glared at me with his cold, aquamarine eyes.

"Look. _Just _because I'm rich and influential doesn't mean…" he began, but I zoned out as something hit me. Metaphorically, of course, otherwise that'd be painful. Although maybe it'd take my mind off my _goddamn finger_!

Of course!

"Get Ryu out of detention- or at least lift the suspension for the first soccer game off of him," I said abruptly, cutting the boy's annoying monologue off. Toshirou froze, staring at me with something akin to stupidity in his gaze.

"What?" he asked blankly. I grinned deviously.

"You heard me; if you're so rich and shit, use your powers for good! Help out Ryo!" I exclaimed eagerly, ignoring my pain in the wake of my righteous and just cause (notice a pattern?). Toshirou stared at me flatly, understanding gracing his regal appearance.

"No," he said flatly. I scowled irately, deflating like a balloon.

"Why the fuck not?" I shouted. Toshirou crossed his arms again; what the hell, is he my motherfucking parent or something?

"Because," he began in a reprimanding tone, "Ryu deserves it." Angered, especially since Toshirou wasn't denying the fact that he _could_ help out, I took a step forward.

"No, he doesn't," I growled. Toshirou took a step back.

"Yes, he does," he replied. I stepped forward again.

"No, he doesn't!" I practically yelled, feeling extremely angry. Toshirou scowled.

"_Yes, he does_!" he hissed furiously, stepping back again. We continued down the hallway in this fashion, attracting blatant stares from idiotic passerby's and students in their classrooms (teachers, too, annoyingly enough).

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does!"

"No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Argh, what the fuck?" I finally shouted loudly (because, of course, normal people shout softly). "Here, how about this; do this favor for me, and I promise I won't prank you or bother you or _anything_, okay? And you can needle me all you want- I won't care!" This was for Ryu, I told myself, glaring at Toshirou as he considered the request. My finger burned painfully, and I was tempted to simply chop the stupid thing off. Somehow.

"Really… you promise?" he asked, a devious gleam flickering in the depths of his blue-green eyes. Oh fucking great, what was I getting myself into?

"Yeah, cross my heart and hope you die," I said. Okay, I didn't say the last part, but I thought it. And it felt good. "Until the play is over, at least." We were extremely close, staring each other straight in the eye. Toshirou might be good looking, but he wasn't particularly tall. Then again, neither was I, but I was a girl, so it was all cool. Girl power for the fucking win. Toshirou considered it for a moment longer, and then smirked a frustratingly gorgeous smirk.

"Fine. I'll see what I can do," he said nonchalantly, the arrogance in his voice causing me to gnash my teeth. "Oh, and one more thing. I get to kill Matsumoto when she shows her face." I stared. No! No no no no _no_!

Ugh, dammit, Ryo. Damn you more, Toshirou.

"Fine," I said through clenched teeth. Toshirou smiled and backed off, before sauntering away. I had a headache and my finger hurt (as I'm sure you've realized), causing me to wonder if I should just skip the rest of school. Nah, my Dad would have an aneurism if he found out. I brooded on what I'd literally gotten myself too. Before I could angst and act teenager-y for long, Ryu showed up, looking weary.

"Coach Zaraki is gunna be pissed," he sighed. I flashed him a smile, feeling happier in Ryu's presence. I was also a bit unnerved with my confrontation with Toshirou; it had to be the closest thing to a civil conversation we'd ever had. And it felt… weird. I felt weird. Brushing it off, I decided to tell Ryu (cryptically) the good news.

"Ehh, I wouldn't worry about that," I said nonchalantly and the boy gave me a surprised look.

"Huh?" he asked, clueless, and I smiled mysteriously. Or what I thought was 'mysteriously'. I probably just looked like a retard. Actually, how the fuck does a person look 'mysteriously'?

Okay, getting off topic.

"Where's the ferret?" I asked, changing the conversation. I couldn't bring myself to call the furry bastard by his name, considering the trouble he'd caused. Furry bastard. Wait, I already said that (thought it? Wondered it? Fucked it?). Shit.

"Shu is… uh… Shu?" Ryu patted his hair, looking for the smelly son of a bitch, only to realize the little ferret wasn't there. "Oh shit."

Down the hall, in the principal's office, we could hear screaming.

* * *

**Yes, it's shit. No, I don't care. I wrote this in the space of an hour. Be happy.**

**-Firefox**


	16. reboot

Dear readers and reviewers,

Hello. I'm not Firefox53022. However, I am her friend, ShadowDragoon32. She introduced me to fanfiction and we were very close. Sadly, Firefox passed away in 2010. The last chapter was written by me, as I knew her password and stuff. Anyway, I found that I really enjoyed writing that chapter (although I felt I sweared a bit too much, though that was part of the spirit of the story), and looked over the rest of the chapters. And, quite frankly, they suck. Seriously. Hundreds of grievous typos, careless mistakes, and the writing was just… not good. Now, to be fair, Firefox started this story in 8th grade, so I can forgive such mistakes. However, I believe this story has the potential to be great. Thus, I think I'm going to re-write the story. I'll leave this one up in memory of Firefox, but I'm also going to reboot this thing and fix all the mistakes that Firefox made (and yes, the reboot will be on her account. It's only fair, after all.). I'm not sure if I can satisfy you guys with a redone version of this story, but I'm going to try my best.

In best regards,

ShadowDragoon32 (known as Anna in memory of Anne)

P.S. If you have any advice, suggestions, or requests, feel free to PM me or put them in a review. PMs are preferable, but reviews are perfectly fine.


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